The Israel Cabinet met today to formulate its policy with regard to further withdrawals from Sinai and the Gaza Strip, following several days of consultations with Foreign Minister Mrs. Golda Meir who is expected to return to New York this week to participate in the United Nations General Assembly.
Although the Cabinet’s decision has not been made public, the prevailing mood in leading Israeli circles is that Israel must secure effective guarantees of freedom of navigation through Elath Bay before evacuating its troops from the Tiran Strait. It is feared that this strait, if evacuated unconditionally, will again serve as an Egyptian base for the blockading of Israeli shipping.
An Israeli naval vessel was attacked by Saudin Arabian artillery and machinegun fire Friday afternoon when it passed through the eastern part of the Strait of Tiran at the southern end of the Gulf of Akaba. It suffered no damage or casualties. This was the first military action by Saudi Arabia since 1948 when a small unit of that country took part in the invasion of the newly-proclaimed Jewish State.
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