§ 16. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will move to obtain an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the juridical status of 19 the ex-Turkish territory in the Sinai Peninsula.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Anthony Kershaw)No, Sir. We do not consider that the juridical status of this territory is in doubt.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonHowever that may be, is it not a fact that Sinai was Turkish territory which was attached to Egypt by Great Britain by right of conquest after the First World War because it was convenient to Great Britain at the time? Is there not a very good case for demilitarisation of Sinai and the establishment of whatever régime seems appropriate to avert a renewal of Egyptian aggression against Israel?
§ Mr. KershawWhatever the case about the latter part of the hon. Gentleman's Question, the fact is that this frontier did exist in 1906 and was confirmed by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. It was referred to by my right hon. Friend in a speech in Harrogate last October as being a sensible dividing line if one had to continue these negotiations further.