The soldiers who fell in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 left two legacies; never be caught by a surprise attack as Israel was by Egypt and Syria 15 years ago, and to work toward a real peace.
Premier Yitzhak Shamir offered that testament at a memorial service for the Yom Kippur war dead on Mt. Herzl Thursday.
He said Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt, an outcome of the Yom Kippur War, is a reality which has passed the trials of Israel’s security needs. He expressed the hope that the civilian aspects of the treaty would improve.
But while Shamir was extolling the treaty, Yosef Ben-Aharon, director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, was castigating Egypt for affirming support of the Palestine Liberation Organization when its chief, Yasir Arafat, visited Cairo recently.
Ben-Aharon summoned the Egyptian ambassador, Mohammad Basyouni, to inform him that Israel viewed Arafat’s visit “gravely.”
He contended that Egyptian policy toward the PLO jeopardizes peace and was counter productive to relations between Israel and Egypt. Basyouni promised to convey the protest to his government.
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