Israel formally informed Secretary General Dag Hammarskjoid last night that it is withdrawing its armed forces “from the Sinai Desert’ by next Tuesday, January 22. The pledge was giver Mr. Hammarskjold by Abba Eban, chairman of the Israel delegation
A spokesman for the Israel delegation said that Ambassador Eban “also conveyed his government’s willingness to discuss forthwith with the Secretary General the remaining questions of the Sharm El Sheikh area pertaining to the prevention of belligerency in the Gulf of Akaba and the Straits of Tiran , and the arrangements envisaged for Gaza.”
Thus observers here noted, Israel was giving notice to the United Nations that it is not as yet ready to give up the Sharm El Sheikh sector at the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula where Egypt kept nun batteries to prevent freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Akaba.
The withdrawal pledge stated specifically that Israel will take its troops backward beyond the international frontier” But no mention was made about a possible corridor along the edge of the Sinai Peninsula connecting Elath with Sharm El Sheikh. The Israel spokesman called attention to Radio Cairo’s threat, broadcast January 13, to hunt down every single Israel ship that will attempt to enter the Gulf of Akaba and destroy it.”
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