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Egypt Threatens to Send Army Into Sinai August 12, 2001 The Egyptian government is considering sending its army into the Sinai peninsula if Israel moves to reoccupy the disputed territories, according to a report in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. The British paper quoted an unnamed "senior Egyptian security source" as saying that Israel had to be deterred from "destroying" Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. An Egyptian move of this nature would violate the 1979 Camp David agreement. Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered Camp David peace agreement, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai, which it had occupied in the Six Day War of 1967, while Egypt agreed not to keep military forces there. The return of the Sinai to Egyptian control allowed Egypt to reopen the Suez Canal, a major source of income for the impoverished African nation. A U.S.-led multinational peacekeeping force is stationed in the Sinai to ensure Egypt's compliance with the deal. The Six Day War in 1967 was precipitated by Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdul Nasser's decision to send forces into the Sinai, violating the terms of a 1956 ceasefire, in which Israel withdrew forces that had earlier occupied the Sinai in 1956. Because of Egypt's military strength and the proximity of the Sinai to Israel, Israeli officials would view any Egyptian moves into the Sinai as highly threatening. In 1967, Israel decided to seize the Sinai rather than to allow further incursion of Egyptian forces there. Another move by Egypt into the Sinai would likely precipitate another preemptive strike by Israel. The Sunday Times reports that the possibility of Mubarak's intervention is now being factored into Israeli military planning.
© 2001 TruthNews. All Rights Reserved. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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