A party of Arab notables from Gaza were shown around Tel Aviv and its suburbs today as part of a program to acquaint inhabitants of the Gaza Strip with life in Israel Other parties of leading Gaza Arabs will be taken to other parts of Israel on organized tours.
Reports from Gaza said today that Israel police forces have been increased and road blocks strengthened on the roads from the Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip, because of the increased efforts being made by Arabs from Sinai to enter the strip and thus avoid coming under Egyptian rule again. It is evident that Sinai Arabs fear Egyptian return. They seem to feel that the strip, which never was Egyptian territory until the Cairo government seized it during Israel’s War of Liberation, will not again be reoccupied by Egypt.
Natives of the Gaza area, interviewed today, seemed to show little enthusiasm for Egypt’s return as the occupying power here. At first, they were inclined to favor United Nations rule over Gaza to Israel annexation. Many of those interviewed, however, seemed, on second thought, to fear that United Nations rule would be only a temporary solution. They prefer that their future be determined on a more permanent basis.
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