Israeli forces continued preparations today to complete their pullout from the Israeli bridgehead on the west bank of the Suez Canal, an operation officers said would be finished by Feb. 21 when the last Israeli units will cross the canal back to the Sinai Peninsula. Sources here reported that the Egyptians were implementing their share of the agreement to the letter. A report from the west bank said that the Egyptians have demolished four of the five SAM missile sites they built on the canal’s east bank since the Yom Kippur War
At noon on Feb. 21, an Israeli officer will hand over the bridge at the Israeli salient to United Nations Emergency Force officers who, six hours later, will turn the bridge and the salient over to the Egyptians. Until then, Israeli sources said, Israel will maintain significant forces of paratroops, armor and artillery in the bridgehead.
Israeli sappers meanwhile continued to deactivate the mine fields they planted with a target of de-fusing and removing a half million mines out of the 750,000 mines that were placed Maps on the location of the still active mines will be given to the Egyptians. Maps of boobytrap mines also have been prepared and handed to UNEF and the Egyptians.
In an incident last night an Israeli soldier was killed when a patrol clashed with a terrorist gang near Kibbutz Dan in Upper Galilee. The terrorists had penetrated from Lebanese territory.
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