Israeli sources suggested today that an Egyptian proposal to demilitarize the Sinai peninsula if Israel withdraws to its pre-June 1967 borders was nothing more than a pressure tactic aimed at getting the United States to mediate the Middle East conflict. The proposal was made informally by Egyptian officials to Western diplomats recently. Sources here said it was timed to precede next month’s visit by King Hussein of Jordan to Washington.
The Israeli sources said there was nothing particularly new in the idea and that it had mer-it only with regard to the aspect of demilitarization. “We are in favor of any plan that keeps Egyptian troops out of the Sinai,” one source said, adding, however, that Israel is determined never to return to the 1967 lines.
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