Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel will agree to Egypt deploying
thousands of troops in Sinai even though the Israel-Egypt peace treaty
strictly forbids it,
The Economist
magazine reported on Friday.
Barak, who according to the British weekly is backed by Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, said that "the troops will have
helicopters and armored vehicles, but no tanks beyond the lone battalion
already stationed there."
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According to
The Economist,
Barak did not downplay Israel’s long-term concern or the risk in what
he is proposing. The new troops allowed into Sinai are unlikely ever to
be withdrawn by any Egyptian government, according to the magazine.
A week after the
terror attacks near Eilat, the IDF remained on high
alert along the border with Egypt amid fears that additional
terror cells might be in the Sinai on their way to carry out similar
attacks along Israel’s southern border.
The attacks, which took
place last Thursday near the Netafim Crossing, were carried out by around
20 operatives from the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees.
Some
of the terrorists crossed into Israel and others remained on the
Egyptian side of the border. Eight Israelis were killed in the series of
attacks.
Early Monday morning, shots were fired at IDF troops
deployed along Israel’s border with Egypt, not far from the scene of
last week’s attacks. Soldiers returned fire and flares were launched but
the shooter was not located.
“The level of alert is still high,” an IDF source said on Monday.
“We are concerned that terrorists are still roaming throughout the Sinai
who could be plotting another attack.”
