State Department Processing Shipment of Jet Bombers to Israel

The United States is continuing to process pending arms sales to Israel, including the preparations for shipment of light jet bombers previously contracted, State Department sources said today.

These sources said that additional arms were being provided to Jordan. They pointed out that this transaction was not entirely new, but that Jordanian requests were “under study” in line with the existing programs of helping Jordan meet its defense requirements.

Meanwhile, officials said efforts are being made to persuade both Israelis and Arabs to solve disputes through the machinery of the United Nations instead of using force. U.S. official sources denied reports that Washington had deferred arms sales to Israel in connection with the recent Israeli action against Jordan.

(Information was received in Washington today from Moscow that a top-level Egyptian military and political delegation has arrived in the Soviet capital for “military and political” negotiations linked with the recent Arab-Israeli clashes. The delegation is headed by Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, Egyptian First Vice-President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Two previous visits to Moscow by Amer were followed by heavy shipments of modern arms to Egypt. It is anticipated that Russia will supply Egypt with ultramodern weapons of types not yet in the Egyptian arsenal.)

Secretary of State Dean Rusk conferred yesterday with Israel Ambassador Avraham Harman for an exchange of views on the situation in the Middle East. The meeting took place at the initiative of Secretary Rusk. It is understood that an exchange of views covered the recent events in the area and the issue pending at the United Nations. Also participating were Minister Ephraim Evron of the Israeli Embassy and Roger Davies, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.