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Britain Denies Israeli Charge That It Supplied Arab States with Arms During Truce

December 16, 1948
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A Foreign Office spokesman today denied that Britain broke the U.N. Security Council truce by supplying arms and ammunition to the Arab states, Reuters reported.

The denial was made to charges by the Israeli mission in Washington yesterday to the effect that last summer the British supplied thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition to Egypt and 20 fighter-bomber planes to Iraq. The British spokesman insisted that at no time during the U.N. truce did his government supply the Arab states with war materials.

An editorial in the London Times today praised Transjordan’s King Abdullah for acting “prudently” in not rejecting the Palestine Arab crown because of Arab League pressure. The newspaper termed “unwarranted” accusations that Britain was behind Abdullah’s move, adding that there is no reason to believe that the Arab monarch will be deflected by “misrepresentation of his motives or criticism of his country.”

(The New York Times this morning viewed Abdullah’s move as seeming to “strength on hopes that a solution of the Palestine question is under way.” The Times considered it significant that Abdullah’s action was taken in the face of Arab League opposition. It also pointed out that the League has suffered a “serious rift” since Abdullah controls most of Arab Palestine and is in a position to carry out his plans.)

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