Warning against a “one-sided arms race” in which the Soviet Union is resupplying the Arabs. Ambassador Avraham Harman of Israel said today in an address before the National Press Club that Israel should be given an opportunity to maintain a minimum level of deterrent strength.
He said that while limitation of arms shipments to the region was desirable, it was important not to permit a “one-way street” to exist in which Russia built up the Arabs with weapons to be used against Israel.
The Ambassador emphasized the need for direct talks between Israel and the Arab states if peace is to be achieved. He said the Arabs should be told at the United Nations and elsewhere that they must enter into such nation-to-nation discussions. He said the world must address itself to the Arab refusal to acknowledge the existence of Israel, “except for the purpose of seeking to destroy it.” The Arab insistence on the rights of belligerence and the Arab exploitation of the Arab refugee problem were among other points cited by the envoy.
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