Arab countries have signed contracts for more than $35 billion worth of arms since the Yom Kippur War and $7 billion worth of those weapons have arrived in the Middle East, informed sources reported here today. Saudi Arabia’s share reportedly is $14 billion in weapons.
The mounting flow of weaponry, 66 percent ordered from Western countries, combined with recent moves toward greater cooperation among Arab confrontation states, is causing concern among Israeli officials. There are fears here that the growing Arab arsenals may encourage Arab leaders to think in terms of military options against Israel, the sources indicated.
The priorities the Arab states are applying in their purchases place air forces first, then anti-aircraft weapons and other air defense equipment then land force arms and finally maritime forces. Israeli officials are keeping close watch on the rapid military buildup, noting that it is being accompanied in recent months by highly visible efforts of Egypt to improve its strained relations with Syria and to strengthen ties with Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Another reported source of concern to Israel is Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s continuing difficulties with his domestic economy. Israeli officials believe there are ominous parallels between Sadat’s problems and those in Egypt when corruption, economic problems and an elephantine bureaucracy paved the way for the seizure of power by the late Gamel Abdel Nasser who became the leader of anti-Israel forces in the Arab world.
The sources recalled that Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur warned last Friday that there were dangers to Israel’s security from the proximity of Saudi Arabian borders and shores to Israeli-held Eilat Gulf maritime lanes. Gur also stressed a greater immediate danger of Saudi Arabia placing its immense financial and military resources at the disposal of the Arab confrontation states, on the presumption that Saudi Arabia would prefer not to become involved in a direct confrontation with Israel.
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