State Department sources today revealed that the Department’s thinking about a mutual defense pact with Israel is not yet crystallized, but that Defense Minister David Ben Gurion’s offer to sign a defense pact with the U.S. has been welcomed as a constructive suggestion. Mr. Ben Gurion made his bid in Tel Aviv this week during an exclusive interview with an American newspaperman.
While State Department sources tied the offer to the Israel national elections, they also indicated that a defense pact with Israel is under constant study and that the suggestion will be given added consideration.
Israel circles here today indicated satisfaction over Harold Stassen’s tribute to Israel’s economic developmental efforts. Mr. Stassen, former director of the now defunct Foreign Operations Administration which administered economic aid to Israel, predicted before the Senate Appropriations Committee that economic conditions in Israel will be stable in five years. Israel circles observed that the tone and content of this testimony was far more friendly to Israel than was testimony on certain occasions in past years.
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