Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has allowed Egypt to again violate its demilitarization agreement in the Sinai Peninsula.

Israel’s military agreed to an Egyptian request to deploy additional forces in eastern Sinai.

Officials said the additional troops exceeded the restrictions of the 1979 (Camp David Accords) Egyptian-Israeli treaty, which stipulated the demilitarization of eastern Sinai.

“The Egyptian military activity in Sinai is coordinated with Israeli security elements and authorized at the most senior levels in Israel, to contend with security threats in Sinai that pose a threat to both Israel and Egypt,” the Israeli military said.

In a statement on July 2, the Israeli military did not detail the proposed Egyptian military deployment. But Israeli sources said the Egyptian Army has moved dozens of armored vehicles as well as hundreds of troops to the Sinai border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

This marked the fourth announcement since the ouster of President Hosni
Mubarak in January 2011 of Israeli permission to expand Egypt’s military
presence in Sinai. Officials said the Israeli announcements were coordinated
with the United States.

  1979 Egyptian-Israeli treaty, Camp David accords, deploy forces to Sinai, Gaza Strip, Israel allows Egypt to violate Camp David Accords