Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said this weekend that it would be more in Israel’s interest to reach an agreement with Egyptian President Nasser than with King Hussein of Jordan.
In an interview with Haaretz, Tel Aviv daily, Gen. Dayan said he would like “an arrangement with Nasser on a secure border line which would ensure us freedom of passage to Elath,” the southern port on the Gulf of Akaba, “and an arrangement that would ensure Israeli shipping in the Suez Canal.” Israel now occupies the eastern border of the canal. He said that “after all, we are there and we can trade with them: ‘You want us to retreat – give us passage for our ships.'”
Asserting that the pre-June war borders were unsafe, he said the Tiran Strait, which controls shipping to Elath, was essential for Israel “and we cannot leave them in the hands of the Egyptians or even of the United Nations.”
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