Egypt refused to allow some 150 refugees from Lebanon to enter Alexandria and forced the Turkish freighter that brought them to sail back to the Lebanese port of Sidon. This was learned from the seven members of the crew of the ship, the Cafrokan, which was escorted into Haifa today after the Israeli navy stopped it outside the port and inspected the then empty freighter.
The navy stopped the ship because it had deviated from its scheduled course which was to take the refugees to Alexandria and then go to Israel for a consignment of fodder to Cyprus. But since it had to take the refugees back, it went to Lebanon first, causing the check by Israeli boats which have been patrolling off Lebanese waters. Once the reason for the change was cleared up, the Turkish boat began loading the fodder at Haifa.
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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.
