Egyptian Ambassador Saad Mortada politely rejected a request by a group of settlers from Yamit to meet with President Hosni Mubarak to ask him to reconsider Israel’s final withdrawal from Sinai. Under the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Israel must evacuate the eastern third of the peninsula, which includes Yamit, by April, 1982.
Mortada met for 20 minutes today with a delegation consisting of businessmen from Yamit. He told them that Egypt was determined to carry out the Camp David accords as agreed. He said he understood the problems of the Yamit residents but that as far as he was concerned they are a matter to be resolved between the settlers and the government of Israel.
The Yamit settlers also suggested, as an alternative, that they be allowed to remain in the area and develop it after the Egyptian administration takes over. Mortada said he would convey their request to his government. In parting, he told the group, “Remember, peace is the main thing.”
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