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Ball in Egypt's Court

(Ynet News) Zvi Mazel - With 750 elite Egyptian border guard forces (accompanied by choppers and speedboats) deployed along the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi route on the Gaza-Egypt border, has the peace agreement with Egypt been breached by weakening the military clause guaranteeing the demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula? We must recall that Israel was the one to decide of its own initiative to disengage from Gaza, a decision that surprised the Egyptians; it was not a deliberate Egyptian-initiated move. Egypt had indeed undertaken several steps toward building banned fortifications in the Sinai in the first years after the peace deal was signed. However, it appears this trend was halted once the multinational monitoring force (MFO) established to oversee the Sinai's demilitarization went into action. The force, which mostly comprises American soldiers, performs its task with efficiency. Egypt would therefore not be able to bring more forces into the Sinai beyond what was agreed upon in the latest deal unless it removes the multinational force, as Egyptian President Nasser did prior to the 1967 war. Egypt has an interest in keeping the Gaza Strip quiet and preventing the movement of hostile, radical elements in the area. Egypt was badly burned by terror attacks organized in Taba, Ras a-Satan, and Sharm el-Sheikh right under the noses of the country's security services, renowned for their efficiency and strictness. The writer, a career diplomat for 38 years, was Israel's ambassador to Romania, Egypt, and Sweden.
2005-09-02 00:00:00
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