State Department spokesman Robert J. McCloskey said today that “we deplore and regret all cease-fire violations in the Middle East by either side, whether initiated by regular or irregular forces.” His statement was made in connection with reports of what he said appeared to be “a fairly large Israeli raid across the Gulf of Suez.”
He was asked if there was any evidence of the use of the newly supplied Phantom jets in the action and responded that he did not know of such use. He likewise said he had no knowledge of a report that an Israeli plane had been shot down by a Hawk ground-to-air missile. Egypt does not have these missiles but the United States has supplied them to Saudi Arabia.
Mr. McCloskey was asked if the U.S. had information about the Israeli objective in the raid. He said that the U.S. had some information about the real objective but he felt no obligation to identify it.
White House spokesman Ronald Zeigler said today in response to questions that the U.S. hoped for an end to truce violations by both sides in the Middle East conflict. He declared that the U.S. Government wanted an end to cease-fire breaches by both sides. In response to another question, he said that to his knowledge, Israel had not used the Phantom jets in the raid.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
