Israeli authorities were reported today to be convinced that Egypt will not resume the shooting war when the current cease-fire expires on Feb. 5 even if Cairo does not formally agree to another extension of the truce. The Israeli belief was said to be based on intelligence gathered from various sources. It did not preclude the possibility of Egypt opening fire at a later date, Israel charged Egypt today with new overflights of Israeli positions on the east bank of the Suez Canal in violation of the truce. According to the complaint lodged with the United Nations Truce Observation Organization, two Egyptian Sukhoi-7 fighter-bombers flew over Israeli emplacements in the northern sector of the canal zone and two others overflew positions in the central sector. The announcement did not state whether either side opened fire. According to Israeli sources, the overflights may be intelligence-gathering operations and may be undertaken to demonstrate a warlike attitude on the part of the post-Nasser leadership. Israeli intelligence believes that the government of President Anwar Sadat will not be able to withstand for long the pressure from Army officers who want to renew the war of attrition against Israel, begun by the late President Nasser.
Military experts here said today that Israel will not fire the first shot in the canal zone but, should the Egyptians renew the fighting, Israel will not confine itself to a static defense. The experts said that Israel would embark on a war of rapid movement if she were forced to fight again but would probably not use her airforce in suicidal attempts to destroy Soviet missiles in the canal zone, To do that, the experts said, would be to play into Egyptian and Soviet hands by risking the Israel Air Force which must be preserved for more vital objectives that cannot be revealed at this stage. A Foreign Ministry spokesman today described as “regrettable” a fire-bomb attack on the Egyptian UN Mission in New York. The spokesman said Israel adheres to the principle of immunity for all member states of the UN and added that “whoever committed the bombing should be condemned.”
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