Egypt’s insertion of forces into Sinai to fight Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists there violates the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and poses serious dangers to Israel, warned two experts who were interviewed in the weekend’s Makor Rishon.
Operation Eagle, launched by Egypt on August 14, 2011, saw 1,000 troops as well as APCs and tanks entering Sinai to fight Al Qaeda forces there. The Islamist enemy turned from Al Qaeda to ISIS eventually, and Egypt inserted even larger forces into the peninsula, with Israel’s agreement. Egypt’s air strikes gradually moved closer to the border between Sinai, Gaza and Israel, and the military maneuvers have grown larger and larger.
“Under certain circumstances, a crisis and even some kind of confrontation could take place between Israel and Egypt on the sands of Sinai,” predicted Dr. Ehud Elam, who used to work for the Ministry of Defense and now lives in the US. “In recent years, Israel has been allowing Egypt to transfer forces into Sinai even though this erodes the peninsula’s demilitarization, which is a central component of the peace treaty. If Egypt reinforces its military presence in a meaningful way without Israel’s consent, this could lead to a collision.” FULL REPORT
