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Israelis feel so strongly about the West Bank in part because of what is happening in the northern Sinai, which Israel has agreed to give back to Egypt by April 25. Although most Israelis regard the Sinai withdrawal as a suitable price to pay for peace with Egypt, the evacuation is nonetheless a difficult step, which will leave them feeling more cramped and less secure than they were before. But the real victims of the Sinai withdrawal are the 5,000 Israelis who lived there; to them, the experience of leaving has been both sorrowful and infuriating.
In Yamit, where 1,000 families lived until recently, a group of settlers gathered around a bonfire one night last week to sing, dance and, in the words of one resident, recapture "the special atmosphere that prevailed here for so many years." One settler, a Soviet immigrant, cried, "Our Prime Minister is a traitor, our Defense Minister is committing treason!" In the main square, once known for its clean, green landscaping, graffiti had appeared on the walls: "No to exile and wandering, yes to fatherland and freedom." Sand dunes, pushed by the wind, were already attacking the town from all sides. Even a big white dove of peace, painted two days earlier by a departing settler, was being swallowed up by the sand.
At Yamit, about 2,000 zealots were preparing for what they called "the final battle" with the Israeli armed forces. Some of them were disillusioned settlers, and some were Jewish militants recruited in the U.S. Five boatloads of additional recruits attempted to reach Yamit last week, but four of the boats were blocked by the Israeli navy. The zealots claimed to have built a makeshift fortress for themselves in Yamit, and threatened to fight off Israeli efforts to remove them.
Most governments, including Egypt's, were convinced that the Israeli withdrawal would be completed on schedule. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has tried hard to assure the Israelis that Egypt will not turn hostile after the withdrawal has been completed. Says he: "We shall be as committed to peace after April 25 as we have been before."
The U.S. is pleased with Israel's policy in the Sinai but concerned and even irritated over its handling of the situation on the West Bank. The tone of U.S. criticism has been insistent but not harsh; Secretary of State Alexander Haig believes that talking tough to Begin only makes him more stubborn. The fear in Washington is that the West Bank incidents will so anger the Arabs that the cease-fire along the Lebanese border, which has held since last July 24, will end. That in turn could give the Israelis cause to mount an assault against P.L.O. positions in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been advising Arab governments not to overreact to the rising tension. Says a U.S. analyst: "The Arabs are more skeptical than ever about our ability to influence Israel, and they think the Israelis are just one step away Bank." from Most Arab annexation of specialists the at the West State Department have also concluded that Begin has no intention of giving up the West Bank settlements or even of curtailing their growth.