The two Israel Air Force bases in the Negev being built by the U.S. to replace two being abandoned in Sinai were formally declared operational yesterday, even though far from completion.
The first Israeli squadron flew into Uvdat airfield north of Eilat late yesterday. The Ramon airfield near Mitzpe Ramon will be taken over shortly. The new airfields, plus a third being built by Israeli contractors at Tel Malhata near Beersheba, are to replace the two major air bases of Eitam and Etzion in Sinai which are to be handed over to the Egyptians for civilian use only, by next April, the date of Israel’s final withdrawal from Sinai under the Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
The Negev airfields are far from complete. Construction is behind schedule. Officials fear they will not be completed by the final withdrawal deadline but will have to become fully operational even though construction work will continue.
SYMBOL OF PEACE
Addressing the ceremony marking the arrival of the first Israel Air Force squadron, Premier Menachem Begin said that “although this airfield will see the takeoff and landings of modern warplanes, we regard this airfield as a symbol of our desire for peace.”
He noted that “among the victims and the price we have paid for the peace treaty are the two airfields in the Sinai” which are to be replaced by those under construction in the Negev. Begin thanked the Americans for their assistance in building the two new air bases.
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