Jordan is significantly increasing its arms expenditures and the United States, which bolsters the Jordanian economy, is considering outright grants of some forms of military assistance to the Hussein regime, it was learned here today.
Reliable information available here is that Jordan will spend nearly one-third of its 1967 budget on a military build-up, primarily against Israel. Of a total budget of $193,000,000, Jordan has designated $56,300,000 for its armed forces and new weapons. Another $3,500,000 was allocated for new fortifications on the Israeli border.
Officials are reluctant to discuss the nature and types of new military aid to be provided by the United States to Jordan. The purpose of the new arms is to strengthen the Jordanian military posture, both for internal security reasons and against Israel.
(While quiet prevails on the Israel-Jordanian border, Arab saboteurs are continuing their activities inside Israel near the Syrian border. An Israeli patrol reported today it had found and dismantled a Mark-2 mine of the type used by the Syrian army. The mine had been planted on the patrol’s route in the Dan area less than a mile from the Syrian border. Israel filed a complaint with United Nations observers.)
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.
