TENSION MOUNTS IN MIDDLE EAST

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31378, 25 May 1967, Page 13

TENSION MOUNTS IN MIDDLE EAST

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright)

LONDON, May 24. The violent war of words intensified today as battle-ready Israeli .• troops faced the well-equipped forces of their Arab enemies. ’ As Arab broadcasts graphically told listeners of the mounting .' tension, frenzied Egyptians at mass rallies in Cairo chanted slogans against Israel and the United States.

“Al Ahram,” the authoritative Cairo newspaper, said that Egypt had mined the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba and that any Israeli ships trying to get to the port of Eilat would be “exposed to fire” if they attempted to defy the Egyptian ban of the gulf.

An Egyptian cruiser, four torpedo boats and two submarines have passed through the Suez Canal, apparently heading for the Red Sea to enforce a blockade of the strategic Gulf of Aqaba, reliable sources reported in Cairo.

A blockade of the gulf would isolate the major Israeli port of Eilat and cut the country’s lifeline to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

President Nasser’s action on the Gulf of Aqaba was a severe jolt to the hopes of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant, of averting a full-scale armed conflict.

When he arrived in Cairo in a bid to ease the menacing crisis, demonstrators, organised by the Arab Socialist Union, shouted war slogans at

a rally in front of the Arab League Headquarters, next door to the Cairo Hotel where U Thant met with aides and United Nations officials. Martial music and emotionpacked commentaries calling for an Arab invasion of “Palestine” dominated Cairo Radio broadcasts, and loudspeakers in several public squares blared marching songs. Liberation Army

Reserves in the Palestine Liberation Army, the military arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, were called

to duty by the Governor of Gaza on the Israeli frontier and Egyptian sources reported more than 100,000 Egyptian troops, including several regiments trained in the Yemen, were ready in Sinai for possible war with Israel.

There were widespread expectations in Cairo that hostilities might start on the Syrian-Israeli border and would be followed by a conflict on the Israeli-Egyptian border stretching from the Mediterranean at Gaza to the Red Sea off Sinai. It appeared unlikely in Cairo that U Thant would be able to “pull the situation out of the fire” and to avoid an outright clash between Arab and Israeli forces. President Nasser, who will hold his first meeting with U Thant today, is reported ready to listen to the SecretaryGeneral's views on the current crisis, but is not willing to back down on the evacuation of the United Nations emergency force or on the bah on Israeli shipping in the Gulf of Aqaba. U.S. Position In Washington President Johnson maintained a position that would allow the United States freedom of action, while promising vigorous support of United Nations moves to head off war. He said that the United States was firmly committed to the support of the political independence and territorial integrity of all the nations of the Middle East area.

Last night in a statement he described the announced Egyptian intention to blockade the Gulf of Aqaba as “illegal and potentially disastrous to the cause of peace.” He called upon all concerned in the crisis to seek peace through restraint. “The danger—and it is a grave danger—lies in some miscalculation arising from a misunderstanding of the intentions and actions of others,” the President de-

dared in a statement Issued by the White House. Naval Moves

A military spokesman at Malta announced that British warships and troops in the Mediterranean had been placed on alert because of tensions in the Middle East. The alert included the aircraft carrier Victorious, two frigates and six minesweepers.

At the same time the

United States aircraft carrier Saratoga, a cruiser and some destroyers and supporting ships from the United States Sixth Fleet were ordered to-

wards the eastern Mediterranean, according to the “New York Times” news service. A Marine battalion land-ing-team, assigned to the fleet, was still on shore leave in Naples, but United States Defence Department officials said it could be moved rapidly if needed.