A move to condemn the British Government’s policy of supplying jet planes to Arab states was defeated today in the House of Commons by a vote of 267 to 238.
A series of Laborite speakers, led by Hugh Dalton, blasted the British policy and pointed out that the sale of weapons to the Arabs is likely to increase rather than to diminish Arab-Israel tension. Dalton also expressed regret over the fact that the Arab rulers refuse to enter into direct peace negotiations with Israel.
Minister of State Selwyn Lloyd said that Britain cannot refuse to sell jets to some of the Arab countries because this would mean repudiation of her treaty obligations to Iraq and Jordan, He argued that aircraft sent to the Arab countries were not needed in Britain, nor by any country affiliated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He added that it was important for Britain to engage in the export of jets “if the country was to earn its living” since such export is of great economic advantage to England.
Opposition to Britain’s sale of jet planes to the Arab countries was expressed during the debate also by the Jewish deputies, J. Silverman and Barnett Janner, as well as by Michael Foot and Anthony Greenwood, all Laborites. Air Commodore Harvey, Conservative deputy, complained that some of the equipment being sent to the Arab countries were of later design than the equipment used by some of Britain’s own squadrons.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
