Premier Menachem Begin was called on today to rule on the validity of an order by Defense Minister Ezer Weizman barring a group of 50 settlers from establishing themselves at Kadesh Barnea in Sinai, about 40 miles southeast of El Arish. Weizman issued his instructions to the Military Governor last night, only hours before the settlers, members of a Labor-oriented moshav movement, were to occupy the site which has been under preparation for some time.
His order triggered an indignant protest from Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon who said he first learned of it from the news media and contended that Kadesh Barnea was not a new settlement but an existing one. He asked Begin to overrule the Defense Minister. Begin’s only comment today was that “there is a Cabinet resolution on the issue and everything will be ok.”
He was referring to the Cabinet’s decision Sunday to maintain the status quo with respect to settlement policy. The Cabinet said there would be no new settlements in Sinai but a “thickening” of existing ones. Weizman apparently issued his orders on the basis of the Cabinet position.
The Kadesh Barnea site was approved for settlement by the previous government and an advance party has been preparing the land in the area for the past seven months. Arye Nehamkin, secretary of the moshav group, also maintained that it was not a new settlement. However, he said, his organization is not the Gush Emunim and “if the government decides that we have to leave we shall do so.”
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