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A Hairbreadth Away. The sizable Soviet involvement in Egypt has resulted in some strange diplomatic repercussions. Partly to needle the U.S. into providing them with additional jets, the Israelis have begun hinting at a deal with Moscow: a reopening of the Suez Canal in return for a Russian-guaranteed cease-fire agreement. The exchange would give Russian warships easy access to the Indian Ocean from the Mediterranean. Commercially, the U.S. has not been seriously inconvenienced by the canal's closure; militarily, keeping the Russians from using it is a plus. At the same time, Israel has warned Moscow through several diplomatic channels, and in no uncertain terms, that without a ceasefire, any Russian who ventures into a 25-mile corridor above the Egyptian-held west bank of the canal risks a dogfight. Jerusalem's great fear is that the Russians will try to move the SA-3s right along the canal. Israeli jets have bombed what they reported were newly poured concrete foundations for SAMs at 7½-mile intervals along the canal, but construction appears to be continuing.
Since Russian pilots first began to fly operationally in Egypt in April, planes of the two sides have sighted one another on at least two occasions. Both times the Israelis pulled away on orders from Air Force Commander Mordechai Hod. They have orders not to turn away next time. There is evidence that the Russians, who initially were sending up planes every time the Israelis bombed the canal's west bank, have now resigned themselves to a kind of coexistence with Jerusalem's warplanes over a slice of Egypt's airspace. Unless the Russians avoid the canal, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan warned last week, "confrontation is only a hairbreadth away."
Empty-Handed. It was to prepare for a possible confrontation that Foreign Minister Abba Eban visited Washington to renew Israel's request for 25 Phantom jets and 100 Skyhawks. He returned empty-handed last week, but at least he received some advice. One reason the U.S. was holding back, he was told, was the belligerent attitude of Israeli hawks, including Premier Golda Meir. Eban, a longtime dove, sat up until 3 a.m. with Mrs. Meir, polishing her address to the Knesset (Parliament) on foreign policy. Next day, in the course of a 90-minute speech, she mentioned peace no fewer than 90 times. Because of the Soviet presence, she said, "the region has been flung into a new dimension of tension" and may be dragged "into an escalation of warfare and killing." Nevertheless, she added, Israel's position was still "ceasefire, agreement and peace." The generally milder tone of her speech brought disapproving murmurs and hints of revolt from the right-wing, annexationist Gahal party, which holds six of the 24 posts in her Cabinet. Mrs. Meir refused to back down.