Arab League

According to press reports, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Jordan signed an Arab solidarity agreement in Cairo on January 19, 1957. The agreement was intended to provide Jordan with the equivalent of $36,000,000 to be devoted to the Jordanian Hashemite armed forces, including the national guard forces. The agreement was to come into force from the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification, which, according to the press, was to occur some time in April. The agreement also stipulated that the share of each state participating in the Arab obligations was to be paid in two equal installments; the agreement was intended to replace the discontinued United Kingdom grants to Jordan, and the government of Jordan was to purchase all requirements of the armed forces, when equipment became available, in the countries of the contracting parties, the cost of these purchases being deducted from the aid allocations. Part of the allocations were to be in hard currency. According to a statement issued in Cairo, the Arab heads of state also agreed, in reference to the “Eisenhower doctrine†, to reject the “vacuum theory, and decided that Arab nationalism was the sole basis on which Arab policy could be formulated†. The statement also said that occupation of any part of Egyptian territory, including the Gaza Strip, would be regarded as a “continuation of the tripartite Anglo-French-Israel aggression against Egypt†. Press reports further stated that a supplementary report, referring to proposals for placing the Gaza Strip under UN administration, and upholding the Egyptian government's viewpoint, held that any attempt to change the form of rule in Gaza would be interpreted as an unacceptable continuation of the aggression.