A French journalist said to be close to President de Gaulle wrote in an article published here today that France will send Israel its embargoed Mirage jet fighters after the American presidential election in November.
According to Jean Raymond Tournoux, writing in the magazine Paris Match, Gen. de Gaulle told him that if he sent the jets to Israel sooner, “there is no telling how far the Israelis might go.” The Mirage jets, bought and paid for in full by Israel, have been impounded in a warehouse in southern France under an arms embargo imposed by the de Gaulle Government on all combatants in the June. 1967 Middle East war.
According to Mr. Tournoux. Gen. de Gaulle declared that he is “a friend of Israel” despite the fact that “I was offended, insulted and calumnied” for the pro-Arab policies adopted by France after the Six-Day War. The General said he hoped that the differences between France and the United States over Israel would disappear after the American elections. Tournoux wrote. He said that “according to Gen. de Gaulle, a solution of the Middle East conflict requires recognition of Israel’s borders, free passage for Israeli shipping through international waterways and the withdrawal of Israel from most of the occupied territories, at least from Gaza if not from Sinai.”
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.
