The Israeli army’s evacuation from the areas of Sinai agreed to in the interim accord with Egypt initialed by both sides last night will take up to five months and is not expected to be completed until February, 1976, military sources said today. The withdrawals will begin only after the completion of negotiations in Geneva on the military protocols of the interim pact.
The latter will contain the details and time table of the Israeli evacuation; the assumption of control by United Nations forces of the areas evacuated; and the advance of Egyptian forces into the areas stipulated by the agreement, mainly along the coast of the Gulf of Suez, Egyptian civilian oil experts are expected to take over the evacuated Abu Rodeis oilfields in southwestern Sinai within about two weeks. They will be working with Italian experts who were operating the oilfields for the Egyptians prior to their capture by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Israeli army is wasting no time in establishing its new defense lines in accordance with the interim agreement and military leaders are assuring the public that the new lines are really more advantageous to Israel than the old ones. (See P. 3 for separate story on location of new lines.)
ADVANTAGES TO ISRAEL OUTLINED
That evaluation, by Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur over the weekend was elaborated by Res. Gen. Uri Ben Ari in a televised interview this evening. According to Ben Ari, the main advantage to Israel is the greatly enlarged buffer zone that will separate Israeli and Egyptian forces. He considers it an asset to Israel’s early warning system in the event that Egypt attempts a surprise attack. The added space will also enable Israel to make use of its mobile warfare ability–a tactic in which Israel excels–instead of being pinned down to static positions centered on a single defense line, the general said.
The wide area of the northern Sinai plateau is ideal for the marshalling of Israeli armor and should the Egyptians attempt to break through the Mitle and Gidi Passes. they would be involved in a tank battle under conditions favoring Israel and in which Israel could dictate the movements and the outcome, Ben Ari said.
The sole disadvantage of the new lines is that they are out of artillery range of the Suez Canal, he said. On the other hand, that military disadvantage is balanced by the political advantage of freeing the Egyptians from fear that Israel may try to close the canal. If the Arabs have peace of mind in that area, they may become less suspicious of Israeli intentions which could contribute to the success of the new interim accord. Ben Ari said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
