The Israelites pitched their tents here some 3000 years ago in the Exodus from Egypt, and then departed eastward toward the Promised Land. Today, the sons of modern Israel moved off in the same direction; Refidim, the main Israeli military base in Sinai for more than 12 years, was evacuated with a stirring military ceremony. The base, airfield and surrounding area will be officially handed back to Egypt on Friday, marking completion of the second phase of Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula.
The army’s top brass was on hand for the occasion: Chief of Staff Gen. Raphael Eyfan and Gen. Dan Shomron, commander of the Sinai division, and the local front commander. Each of them issued on order of the day stressing that Israel was not withdrawing but leaving this place voluntarily in the interests of achieving true peace. They also expressed hope that Israel will never have to return under the stress of war.
The troops were drawn up in rectangular formation on the dusty airfield. Behind them were some 60 tanks, scores of armored troop carriers and artillery pieces, Each company carried its individual colors with the symbols of its branch of service — infantry, artillery and engineers corps.
The army chair chanted verses from the Bible in which Refidim is mentioned (Exodus Chapts, XVII and XIX). The army band played Hatikva. The soldiers marched in review as four Skyhawk jets streaked overhead. A helicopter trailing an Israeli flag moved eastward. The troops boarded their vehicles and followed in a roar of diesel motors and clouds of dust.
NEW SINAI LINE BEGINNING FRIDAY
On Friday, the Israeli army will be deployed on the new line in Sinai, extending from just outside El Arish on the Mediterranean to Ray Mohammed on the Red Sea. Egypt will be in possession of two-thirds of Sinai. A new buffer zone will be created parallel to the new line. But instead of United Nations forces, it will be patrolled jointly by soldiers of Israel and Egypt. The arrangements were signed and sealed by the heads of the two delegations to the joint Israeli-Egyptian Military Committee — Gen. Dov Sion of the Israeli army and Egyptian Brig. Gen. Safi-A-Din Abu Shnab.
According to the agreement, each side will have eight lookout posts along the 400-kilometer front, each with no more than 10 men. There will be eight jointly manned roadblocks, each with three Israeli and three Egyptian soldiers.
Meanwhile in Cairo, Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and his Egyptian counterpart, Kamal Hassan Ali, are to discuss the role of the American observers who will remain in Sinai as part of the policing machinery. Ali confirmed that as of next Sunday, Israelis and West Bank residents will be able to pass into Egypt via the border station at El Arish and Egyptians will be able to cross into Israel.
When the Egyptians take over Refidim on Friday, the small Israeli skeleton force that was left behind today will move to the new lines. Refidim will revert to its Egyptian name, Bir Gafgafa. It was here in 1967 that President Gornal Abdel Nasser of Egypt proclaimed “Ahalan Weschalan” (Welcome) to war. Today the Israelis left with the declaration “Ahalan Weschalan” (Welcome) to peace.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
