A ministerial committee is nearing a decision on which of two plans to adopt for the future development of the Sharm el-Sheikh area, it was reported yesterday. Both plans under consideration indicate that Israel has no intention ever of relinquishing the strategic area of eastern Sinai. In fact, the town itself and the surrounding region have been renamed.
Sharm el-Sheikh now appears on Israeli maps as Ofira. The adjacent region has been named Merhav Shlomo. A plan proposed by Dr. Raanan Weitz, director of the Jewish Agency’s settlement department, is intended to increase the rate of Israeli settlement as swiftly as possible in Merhav Shlomo.
The Weitz plan calls for the establishment of a string of villages along the east coast of Sinai south to Ofira and north to the existing settlements of Dahav and Neviot which would provide a direct link to Eilat. According to the plan, the population of Ofira should reach 15,000 within 10 years and an industrial complex would be established there to provide jobs for the settlers.
The alternate plan, proposed by Pinous Suseman, calls for the establishment of an urban center of 10,000 along the lines of a summer resort with Dahav and Neviot becoming satellite towns. The former would be based on tourism and the latter would be largely agricultural.
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