[WARNING TO ISRAEL] U.S. REFUSES TO RESPOND TO SAUDI F-15s IN TABUK

[IMRA: If there was a doubt that it would be a grave error for Israel to
enter into a withdrawal scheme that relied on a third party to determine if
the Palestinians were honoring their obligations, the United States sent a
sharp reminder of the obvious: even the friendliest available third party
makes its determinations based on its own interests rather than the facts.]

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has refused to address the issue of
deployment of Saudi F-15S fighter-jets in a base near the Israeli border.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was asked about the F-15S
deployment in the northwestern Saudi base of Tabuk, located more than 150
kilometers from the Israeli port city of Eilat. It was the first time
Boucher fielded the Saudi F-15S question at a State Department briefing.

Congressional sources said the deployment of the F-15s at Tabuk violate U.S.
export terms in 1978. They said Saudi Arabia has violated the F-15 ban in
the 1980s.

Boucher did not deny that the F-15s were at Tabuk. But he would not say
whether this deployment threatened Israel or violated export terms.
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