The Ministry of Interior has refused permission to 30 Israelis possessing foreign passports to participate in an organized tour of Egypt, it was revealed today. The refusal followed authorized permission on the part of an Egyptian tourist agency for an organized tour from Israel of Egypt. The names of 30 potential participants of the tour, due to leave from Tel Aviv for Cairo Sept. 29, were consequently marked off the list, and only persons who are not residents of Israel will be allowed to participate in the 10-day tour.
In a letter to the Israeli tourist agency organizing the tour to Egypt, A. Levy, head of the Department for Immigration and Citizenship at the Interior Ministry, noted: “At this point, we cannot authorize Israeli citizens and residents to tour Egypt. We are prepared to re-examine the problem in light of peace developments or alterations of this situation.”
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry explained that the refusal resulted from the absence of an official request from the Egyptian Interior Ministry to permit the tour.
Tourism Minister Yigael Horowitz noted, meanwhile, that he is not responsible for tourism from Israel, adding that he supports mutual tourism between Egypt and Israel on the condition that the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry agree. The Foreign Ministry declined to respond to the issue because Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan is at Camp David.
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