The World - News from Jan. 7, 1987

A team of 10 U.S. observers is scheduled to replace Israeli troops today in the tiny Sinai enclave of Taba while an international arbitration panel makes its decision on a dispute between Israel and Egypt over Taba’s sovereignty. The observers will set up a checkpoint to monitor and report any violations by the armed forces of either side for the duration of the panel’s proceedings. Israel retained Taba when it returned the rest of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982. Under an agreement reached last September by Egypt and Israel, the observers will control Taba for a transitional period, expected to last two years.