DISMISSAL IN JORDAN

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27911, 7 March 1956, Page 13

DISMISSAL IN JORDAN

Repercussions In Middle East

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 6. T / ntain i It dosing with her allies the events in Jordan, and their effects on the whole Middle East situation, Sir Anthony Eden told the House of Commons. MMdU Foci !’„ ri^ ,e a N K i, l is } er promised time for the turbulent Middle Ea t to be debated next week, new outbreaks of Middle East violence were reported. An Israeli spokesman in Jerusalem said that Syrian machine gunners had forced down an Israeli Air Force plane over its own territory near Dafna in Upper Galilee, wounding the pilot. Israel also said that Egyptian positions had opened fire in the Gaza border strip, and an Israeli outpost had returned the fire. The United Nations chief truce supervisor, General E. L M Bums, conferred today with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, discussing also a Syria-Israel clash on the Sea of Galilee, in which two Israeli policemen were killed and two are still missing.

FEAR FELT BY ISRAEL

“Jordan’s Slap In Face To West” (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, March 6. “Political and military leaders in Israel all agree that the withdrawal of British influence and British restraint from the Arab Legion, with the implied weakening of Western prestige in the region and development of Egyptian influence, is for Israel the most serious event sirce the signing of the Czechoslovak-Egyptian arms deal.” says the Jerusalem correspondent cf “The Times.” He says that official and semi-official comment broadcast from Arab capitals, especially Cairo and Damascus, tends to confirm the Israelis in their view that King Hussein's submission to the pressure of pro-Egyptian elements in Jordan has placed the Arab Legion in effect alongside the military alliance recently concluded by Egypt with Syria and Saudi Arabia and bent on the “liberation” of Palestine. On this assessment, the correspondent says, hostile forces dominated by Egypt now threaten Israel’s land frontiers from south, east and north. “The exercise of moderating influences on the Government of Israel has not been made easier by the events in Jordan. “Party newspapers, which usually give formal support to Mr BenGurion’s coalition government, point out that while Israel waits for the United States to make up its mind about supplying her with arms, and while the Western Powers vainly attempt to devise a security formula without arms, Egypt is getting all the armament it wants and at the same time is extending its control over the armies of other Arab States bordering on Israel. “To make matters worse, according to some of these critics, the West itself is steadily losing ground in Arab countries and, in consequence, is likely more and more to be persuaded of the need to appease the Arabs to the deteriment of Israel. “King Hussein's declaration of Jordan's intention to remain loyal to the treaty between Britain and Jordan has not comforted the Israelis, who are concerned only with the fact that the Arab Legion has become a purely local force, subject to local command and available for local adventures. “That is what alarms the public in Israel, together with the fear that Jordan’s spectacular slap in the face will be met by the West by turning the other cheek.”