Reports of a serious confrontation between Israelis and Egyptians in the disputed Taba region south of Eilat proved to be a false alarm today. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the incident which triggered the reports was the result of an error which has been corrected.
According to Israel Radio this morning, Egyptian forces broke down the border fence on their side of the Taba region last night, drove tractors in and started to erect a structure. Egyptian soldiers were said to be patrolling the damaged fence. The reports, picked up by foreign news media, described the incident as a clash between Israelis and Egyptians, the first since their peace treaty was signed in 1979.
But an Israel army spokesman said later that there was only a “minor incident” of little importance and no loud dispute, as reported by the media, between the Israeli liaison officer in the region and the Egyptians. The Foreign Ministry in Cairo explained that a tractor had been driven in to the disputed area by mistake and was withdrawn. They apologized for the error.
Taba, several acres of beachfront on the Gulf of Aqaba, is claimed by both Israel and Egypt. Under terms of the peace treaty, the dispute must be resolved by negotiation or arbitration. Negotiations were suspended after Israel invaded Lebanon last June.
Israel has since opened a resort hotel, the Sonesta, on the disputed land. The manager of the hotel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he was unaware of the tractor incident.
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