The international maritime conference here approved today a new principle of international law which, without mentioning the State of Israel, confirms the right of access to and from the port of Elath. The vote by which this new principle passed in the 87-nation gathering, was 31 to 30, with the Soviet and Arab blocs lining up in opposition while the Western nations supported Israel.
The new principle guarantees foreign vessels the right of innocent access from the high seas through straits to the ports of coastal nations. Elath lies at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, which stretches more than a hundred miles southward to the Strait of Tiran. Egypt fortified and closed off the strait against shipping bound into or out of the Israeli port until the Sinai operation freed the area.
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