Soviet Assails Israel Anew As Aggressor and Imperialist

The Soviet Government warned today that what it termed continued Israeli aggression against the Arabs threatened a resumption of the Middle Eastern war on a large scale. It branded Israeli policies a threat to international security.

The warning to Israel was published by Tass as an authorized official statement of the Soviet Union. It accused America, Britain and West Germany of encouraging Israel. The Soviet statement asserted that the “ruling circles” of Israel and Western nations encouraging them “are playing a risky game with fire” and are making “serious miscalculations in evaluating the resolve of the Arab states and their friends to uphold the cause of peace in the Middle East.”

The statement added that these “ruling circles” incur “the entire burden of responsibility and retribution for the continuation of the policy of aggression and provocation against the Arab peoples.” It referred to recent clashes along the Suez Canal, blaming everything on Israel. The statement said “each clash of this kind, provoked by the irresponsible and brazen actions of Israeli military men, is fraught with a threat of resumption of the military conflict on a large scale, threatens peace in the Middle East and international security.”

The statement accused Israel and her supporters of obstructing adoption of United Nations resolutions demanding Israel vacate occupied territories. It asserted that “imperialist predatory aims” were at the root of Israeli actions and alleged that Israel intended to appropriate the occupied lands. It said refugees were being expelled through methods of terror and intimidation. The real purpose of the “imperialists,” it said, was plunder of oil deposits in the Sinai Peninsula and other natural resources.

All of these actions, said the Soviet statement, reveal that Israel “is adopting the savage practice the German Fascist invaders resorted to on the territories of countries that fell victim to aggression in the years of World War II.”