An Egyptian civilian administration took over this town on the southwest Sinai coast this morning some 48 hours after the last Israeli soldiers withdrew in orderly fashion ending nearly nine years of Israeli control of this area of Sinai. Ras Sudar, which is surrounded by oil fields, was the first area evacuated by Israel under the terms of the second interim accord with Egypt signed in September.
The Israeli flag was hauled down from the town hall at precisely noon Friday and replaced by the United Nations’ blue flag. Contingents of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) handed the town over to Egyptian civilians today. The first Egyptian tanker, the Salam, is due here tomorrow to load oil and the Egyptian oil minister and other top officials from Cairo will make a formal inspection of Ras Sudar later this week.
They will find a freshly scrubbed, sparkling white town from which all evidence of Israeli military occupation was carefully removed. Israeli soldiers spent their final week at Ras Sudar in a clean-up and repair operation that left Ras Sudar in a better condition than it probably was at any time in the past. The Israelis washed floors, walls and windows, swept the streets, even whitewashed the local mosque that hadn’t been used for years.
The Israelis even left behind their air conditioners, sure to be a comfort to the 100 Egyptian policemen and oil technicians moving in. More important, the oil pumping machinery, much of it new, modern equipment installed by the Israelis, is in tip-top condition and did not miss a beat during the change of administration.
Israeli engineers instructed blue overcalled Italian technicians in the operation of the equipment and the Italians in turn will train the Egyptian technicians who will be joined by a small number of American oil personnel. The Italians expect to be home for Christmas.
CHANGE-OVER WITHOUT CEREMONY
There was no ceremony when the Israelis pulled out Friday, just an exchange of salutes and handshakes with the UNEF officers. The local UNEF commander, Brig. Gen, Bengt Liljesttrand, of Sweden, shook hands with the chief Israeli liaison officer, Col. Shimon Levinson, and expressed thanks for the cooperation of the Israeli government and military in the change-over. “I hope our activities here will contribute toward peace. I want to thank the Israeli soldiers stationed here for keeping the place in perfect condition,” the Swedish general said.
The Israeli flag was lowered by a bearded Jewish soldier, identified only as “Benny.” The UN colors were raised by two UNEF soldiers, one from Finland, the other from Indonesia. An Israeli naval patrol boat made its last sweep of the Ras Sudar coast just before noon Friday and then sped off to the south.
The new Israeli lines are only a few miles east of the Ras Sudar coastal strip and the town remains in full view of Israeli forces. Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the evacuation later this month of the much larger Abu Rodeis oilfields south of Ras Sudar where 80 land-based and offshore wells continue to pump oil.
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