President Nasser of Egypt announced today that the Arab League states had agreed to withdraw their diplomatic representatives from West Germany, it was reported here from Cairo. He indicated that the action had been decided on in retaliation for West Germany’s offer of diplomatic recognition to Israel.
Prior to that announcement, as a result of a top-level Arab League conference held since yesterday in Cairo, President Nasser had hailed the Kuwait National Assembly for proposing an immediate break with West Germany and establishment of relations with East Germany, along with a pan-Arab boycott of West Germany. Nasser told a rally that the Arabs would win “this political showdown” with Israel and West Germany. He added that, “if the Jews win this battle, then the Arabs’ word is valueless and the Arabs had better go and bury their faces in the mud.” He called the “showdown” with Bonn the “first step” toward “the liberation of Palestine.”
Jordan has already recalled its Ambassador from Bonn, as did Saudi Arabia, but the latter country specified this recall was “for consultations.”
(From Bonn, it was reported today that Chancellor Erhard told his Christian Democratic party yesterday that West Germany would “not go down on its knees” before President Nasser of Egypt. He made the statement in commenting on a Nasser speech which villified the West German regime for offering diplomatic recognition to Israel and cutting off economic aid to Egypt.)
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.
