An Israeli delegation is scheduled to leave for Cairo on Sunday, to resume negotiations with the Egyptians over the Taba dispute.
The renewed negotiations are aimed at achieving a compromise on the dispute, in lieu of a binding ruling from an international panel of arbitrators, due in September, that is expected to favor Egypt.
Both countries claim sovereignty over the strip of beachfront property south of Eilat, on the Red Sea. Israel has developed the land as a popular vacation resort.
The Israeli delegation to Cairo will be headed by Yossi Ben-Aharon, director general of the Prime Minister’s Office. Ben-Aharon said Wednesday that it was preferable to reach a compromise than to accept the arbitration.
But, speaking on Voice of Israel radio, Ben-Aharon said there was little room for Israeli concessions.
“We are going to see whether we can meet in the middle of the road, in a way which will allow for coexistence,” he said.
Premier Yitzhak Shamir has rejected an offer from Egypt to give Israel free access to the resort properties it developed, should Egypt be granted the disputed land.
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