GAZA/SINAI: BEDOUINS FROM ISRAELI CONTROLLED SINAI FILE ACROSS BORDER TO VOTE IN EGYPTIAN ELECTIONS.

Record ID: 400138

  • Title: GAZA/SINAI: BEDOUINS FROM ISRAELI CONTROLLED SINAI FILE ACROSS BORDER TO VOTE IN EGYPTIAN ELECTIONS.
  • Date: 20th July 1979
  • Summary: 1. SV: sign indicating sheik Zueid' ZOOM OUT AND PAN TO Bedouins waiting to cross into sheik Zueid village 0.18 2. SV ZOOM IN: Bedouins entering bus. 0.24 3. GV: cars entering Egypt through border area. 0.45 4. SV: Egyptian guards at sentry box. (2 shots) 0.48 5. GV: El Arish Monument to war dead at border ZOOM INTO people queuing to vote
  • Embargoed: 4th August 1979 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SHEIK ZUEID, GAZA AND SINAI
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Reuters ID: LVADSYL79SL7AKV420KWZASRLTMW
  • Story Text: For the first time since the 1967 war, residents of Israeli controlled Sinai have been allowed to vote in the Egyptian elections. They filed across the border to cast ballots for their candidates to the Egyptian People Assembly.

    SYNOPSIS: Some 15-hundred Egyptian nationals -- most of them Bedouins living in small villages like this one--took part in the organised crossing. They were taken by bus to polling stations in the town of El Arish, which now belongs to Egypt.

    The crossing was agreed to recently by Israeli Prime Minister, Menacem Begin, and Egypt's President Anwar Sadat. The Egyptian elections were officially held 1st month, but a number of seats were kept open for the residents of Northern Sinai.

    Watched by Egyptian security guards, the Bedouins queued for hour to cast their votes -- under the shadow of El Arish monument to War Dead.

    The border crossing is seen as a major step towards the normalisation of ties between Israel and Egypt. Significantly it was the first crossing conducted directly by the two countries without the intervention of the Red Cross. It's expected to mark the beginning controlled directly by Israel and Egypt.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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