Neither the Israel Embassy nor the State Department would comment today on reports that Secretary of State John Foster Dulles is holding up economic aid to Israel as a pressure device to make the Jewish State conform to policies desired by the State Department.
A spokesman for the Foreign Operations Administration said that it is a fact that the United States has not allotted any funds for Israel as yet out of monies voted by the Congress in its last session. It was noted, however, that some of the other Near Eastern countries have not yet received allotments.
As to the question of whether Israels funds were being held up at the direction of Secretary Dulles, the spokesman said that this was a question which would have to be referred to the State Department. It was pointed out that the State Department sets policy in such cases and any withholding of funds would be at the direction of the Secretary of State.
A spokesman for the State Department said the Department had “no comment” to make on a query as to whether Israel’s funds were being deliberately held up.
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