State Department Discounts Reports That U.S. Withheld Arms Deliveries to Israel

Reports emanating from Cairo that the United States had used the tactic of withholding arms deliveries to get Israel to return to the Jarring talks last December were discounted by a State Department spokesman today. The spokesman. Charles Bray, also dismissed a Cairo report that the U.S. had assured Egypt that Israel would not he permitted to retain East Jerusalem. Both reports were brought up by newsmen at today’s press briefing. The report on arms deliveries was attributed by Cairo to remarks allegedly made in Israel by that country’s Ambassador to Washington, Yitzhak Rabin. “I wouldn’t want to do Rabin an injustice by commenting on a third hand report,” Bray said. Asked if there were incidents when arms deliveries were used to persuade Israel to comply with U.S. wishes, Bray said he couldn’t say if there were any. On the Jerusalem question he said. “We have made it as clear as we possibly can that the question of settlement rests with the parties.”

Bray had no comment on a report that Cairo has told Washington that it would resume shooting in the Suez Canal zone in five days unless more diplomatic progress was made. A State Department source said later that he didn’t believe the U.S. has been informed to this effect by Egypt. Bray also said he was not aware that Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban planned to return to Washington after a trip to Mexico but wouldn’t exclude the possibility. He said Secretary of State William P. Rogers had “no present plans” to visit the Middle East. But he acknowledged that Rogers would be in Ankara, Turkey on April 29 for a meeting of CENTO. (In Jerusalem, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said today that Secretary Rogers may visit Israel and other Middle Eastern countries in the near future. He said Rogers would probably be accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Joseph J. Sisco who is scheduled to visit Turkey in May.)