The 10-member Inner Cabinet met for nearly eight hours in two sessions Wednesday, and announced in the evening that the government had accepted the proposals for resolution of the Taba issue.
This includes the terms of the compromis as presented by Avraham Tamir and David Kimche, directors-general of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry, respectively.
Taba is a 25-acre piece of Sinai beachfront whose ownership is disputed by Israel and Egypt.
Kimche and Tamir had worked out the compromis terms in a meeting with an Egyptian negotiating team in Cairo, and had reportedly been unanimous in their report to the Inner Cabinet. Premier Shimon Peres announced the Cabinet’s agreement at a press conference Wednesday evening following the marathon talks.
Eight of the 10 Ministers — five each from Labor and Likud — voted to accept the proposals. Only Ariel Sharon and Moshe Arens, both of Likud, voted against.
Still to be decided are the names of the three international mediators who are to join an Israeli and an Egyptian representative, and acceptance of aerial photographs showing the border posts which Israel would claim should mark the border in the Taba area.
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