Egypt has asked the United Nations cease-fire organization to establish an observation point at Port Said, U.N. sources disclosed today. The attack boat which fired the missiles which sank the Israeli destroyer Elath Saturday was in or near Port Said harbor at the time, and Israelis speculated today that the Egyptian request for a cease-fire post there was in fear of an Israeli reprisal attack.
Arab radio stations announced today that all Egyptian Army units on the cease-fire line had been placed on the alert. Dispatches to London today said that Port Said was being heavily fortified and that some 200,000 civilians had been moved out of the cease-fire area, mainly from Ismailia and Suez. In Cairo, streets were deserted as air raid drills were scheduled.
The sinking of the Elath was described today as responsible for a noticeable mood of unrest among the Arabs in the west bank areas occupied by Israel. Observers said that many young Arabs in the area who have been following Cairo broadcasts took the sinking of the Israeli warship to signify that Egypt had regained her fighting strength and believed that another round of hostilities was in the offing.
Plans of west bank Arab notables to elect a mission to represent the Palestinian Arab point of view at the United Nations General Assembly have been shelved while the population awaits further developments.
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