The State Department revealed today that the United States Government had acted speedily to urge Israel not to retaliate against Iraq for the hanging of nine Jews Monday. Robert J. McCloskey, the department spokesman, said today that the warning to Israel was delivered through the American Embassy in Tel Aviv soon after Baghdad Radio announced the killings. Mr. McCloskey said that “the position every American Administration has taken regarding the cycle of provocations and reprisals has been a consistent one. It (the cycle) should be avoided. We continue to make the view known.”
Reports from many capitals received here indicated widespread speculation on the immediacy and nature of a punitive retaliatory action which many expected Israel would mount. Others pointed out, however, that the Jewish populations in the Arab states might be punished further if Israel undertook action.
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