The White House and State Department went ahead today with elaborate arrangements for hospitality to Israel’s Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and Mrs. Eshkol when they arrive here next Monday.
State Department sources said today that protocol considerations prompted Secretary of State Dean Rusk to receive late yesterday afternoon the Ambassadors from 13 Arab states who protested the forthcoming visit of Mr. Eshkol to this country as a guest of President Johnson, Secretary Rusk told the Arab envoys that the United States was aware of Arab views and would follow its policy in the Middle East from the viewpoint of national interest and its desire to see peace preserved in the area.
The Arab diplomats jointly warned the State Department that the real objective of the Eshkol visit was to exploit an election atmosphere here “to destroy Arab-American relations to gain liberty of aggression in the Middle East. ” The appointment for the Arab group was requested by Ambassador Mostafa Kamel of the United Arab Republic and granted by Secretary Rusk.
Ambassador Kamel predicted that “Eshkol will ask for more arms, money, and even a guarantee of security. We think Israel has more arms than it needs, more money than any other country and we think that the Charter of the United Nations provides enough guarantee of its security.” He said “we discussed very frankly the coming visit “of Mr. Eshkol.
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