Syria and Egypt Differ on Attacking Israel Now; Syria Feels Abandoned

Syria and Egypt continued their verbal fight today over whether the time was ripe for the Arab rulers to resume military attacks against Israel. The Syrian press revealed that President Nasser of Egypt, addressing the five-day congress of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Cairo last week said:

“If today we are incapable of defense, how can we speak of attack? If an aggression is committed against Syria, am I going to attack Israel? In this way Israel would be in a position to fix for me the time of attack. Is this wise or sound?”

The Syrian Government, replying to Nasser’s arguments, charged him with having no intention to help Syria in a possible showdown with Israel over the Jordan River diversion issue. In a statement broadcast over the Damascus radio, the Syrian Government said that Nasser wished to see the Israel forces at the threshold of Damascus and only then would he move, primarily to pose as a “savior” of Syria.

The bitter attack by the Syrian Government against Nasser precipitated a number of articles in the Egyptian press, making it clear that Egypt would not be dragged into a war if Israel limited itself to raiding diversion installations on Syrian territory. This, in turn, brought about a public meeting in Damascus at which Nasser was denounced as a “double-crosser.” Syrian President Amin el-Hafez, who addressed the meeting, charged not only Nasser but all Arab states with “conspiring” against Syria. He declared that none of the Arab countries had any intention of coming to Syria’s aid if warfare broke out between, Syria and Israel.

The Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, which is considered the mouthpiece of Nasser, reported this weekend the details of a purported plan for a British-American landing in Lebanon if that country were attacked by Egyptian forces. The Foreign Office in London and the State Department in Washington refused to comment on the published report.