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Israel, Egypt to extend army presence alongside Egypt’s Rafah border

Egypt has introduced it should ramp up army troop deployment close to the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip in a bid “to strengthen nationwide safety.”  

Based on a statement published Nov. 8 by Egyptian armed forces spokesperson Gharib Abdel Hafez on his official Fb web page, “A joint army committee succeeded (throughout a coordination assembly with the Israeli aspect) in amending the safety settlement to extend the quantity and capabilities of border guards close to the Rafah crossing.”  

The safety settlement cited by Abdel Hafez is an annex to the 1979 Camp David Peace Accords signed by late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Start permitting Egypt to keep up a civilian police power solely within the japanese strip of the Sinai Peninsula. That, nevertheless, has modified lately with the warming of ties between Cairo and Jerusalem and Egypt’s ongoing military campaign towards Islamist jihadi teams waging an insurgency within the northern Sinai Peninsula.

Not solely has Israel turned a blind eye to the annex of the Camp David Accords banning the presence of serious Egyptian forces within the space, the Jewish state has additionally cooperated intently with Egyptian safety forces of their warfare on terrorism within the restive Sinai Peninsula, together with by “finishing up a covert air marketing campaign, conducting greater than 100 airstrikes (towards jihadi targets) inside Egypt,” in line with a New York Times report printed Feb. 3, 2018.   

Whereas President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi admitted in a January 2019 CBS interview that safety cooperation with Israel “is tighter than it has ever been,” the extent of that cooperation has not been made public partly due to a information blackout on safety developments within the northern Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian authorities are additionally conscious that hotter ties with Israel might provoke public discontent. Whereas many Egyptians usually are not averse to commerce with Israel, the Egyptian public is cautious of deepening ties with the Jewish state till a simply and sturdy peace with the Palestinians is achieved. 

The Nov. 7 deal struck between senior Egyptian and Israeli army officers throughout their assembly within the Pink Sea resort metropolis of Sharm el-Sheikh has introduced the joint collaboration between the 2 allies to mild. Israel has now formally given the Egyptian army better management over the border space and better leeway to function towards the Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militant teams within the northern Sinai Peninsula, enhancing its personal safety within the course of. Sinai Province (Wilayat Sinai), IS’s Egypt affiliate, has prior to now fired rockets from the Sinai Peninsula into Israel, claiming duty for the assaults within the Eilat area. In a single such assault carried out in July 2015, the group stated it had acted in retaliation for “Israeli assist for the Egyptian military.”  

Senior army strategist Samir Farag welcomed the recent agreement between Egypt and Israel, saying it has made members of the Egyptian armed forces “very comfortable.” He defined that underneath the Camp David Accords, the Sinai Peninsula was divided into three zones: A, B and C.   

“The Camp David Treaty regulated the presence of forces within the Sinai, permitting solely civilian police forces to be deployed to zone C — the world nearest to the shared border with Israel,” he informed Al-Monitor.

He continued, “Lately, we (the Egyptian armed forces) have been combating towards terrorists in Rafah, El Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Jabal El-Halal, all of that are positioned in zone C; we needed to search Israel’s permission earlier than dispatching army forces and armaments to cleanse these areas of terrorist parts.” 

“The recent agreement has made it doable for Egypt to have an elevated army presence in zone C alongside the border with Israel,” Farag stated. The settlement —  which was signed on the Israeli aspect by head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, head of the Worldwide Cooperation Division Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, and head of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman — had first to be approved by Israel’s State Safety Cupboard as that is “a political fairly than a army resolution,” he added.

Describing the choice as “a win-win,” Farag argued that “Israel has given the inexperienced mild for the elevated army presence alongside its southern border for the sake of rooting out the extremist menace within the Sinai Peninsula.” 

“Israel is already targeted by Hamas and Hezbollah; it doesn’t should be combating on one other entrance. The settlement is mutually helpful for each Egypt and Israel,” he stated.

An Israel Protection Forces spokesperson informed Al-Monitor, “The choice to amend the safety settlement was made for the good thing about the 2 nations (Egypt and Israel); it was primarily based on a standard understanding of the safety wants and challenges each within the Rafah space and within the context of combatting terrorism.”

Maj. Gen. Samir Farag famous that the September talks between Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held in Sharm el-Sheikh had paved the way in which for the current settlement between Egypt and Israel as safety challenges had featured within the discussions.

Hassan Nafaa, professor of political science at Cairo College, informed Al-Monitor that each the newest settlement and Bennett’s current go to, the primary by an Israeli premier to Egypt in additional than a decade, are clear indicators of the warming relations between Egypt and its neighbor to the northeast. “It’s clear that our relationships have now moved from the cold peace that was prevalent within the days of Hosni Mubarak to extra cordial relations with Israel underneath President Sisi,” he stated. 

Nafaa famous, nevertheless, that this isn’t the primary time that Israel has given the green light to the Egyptian armed forces to deploy army troops and border guards to the Rafah border space. However this time the settlement is official and has been extensively publicized, together with within the native press.

“Israel is looking for its personal safety, however it’s also making an attempt to win over Egypt because it acknowledges the latter’s pivotal position in mediating a cease-fire with Hamas when the necessity arises, in negotiating prisoner swaps with Hamas and within the reconstruction of Gaza,” Nafaa stated.

In Could, Egypt succeeded in brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after 11 days of incessant violence — the worst between the 2 events to the battle since 2014. In the meantime, Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel is scheduled to go to Jerusalem in late November — his second go to because the new Israeli authorities was sworn in over the summer time — to dealer a long-term cease-fire in Gaza that features a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas.

Nafaa famous that Egypt’s relations with Hamas have additionally “improved considerably” because the rulers of the Gaza Strip have been cooperating with Egypt within the struggle towards terrorism within the northern Sinai Peninsula.

The improved ties with each Hamas and Israel can solely enhance Egypt’s position as mediator between the 2 conflicting events. It additionally serves to reinforce Egypt’s safety. The numerous reduction in terrorist attacks within the Sinai Peninsula and elsewhere within the nation of late testifies to the truth that Egypt additionally wants the assist of each Hamas and Israel to win the warfare on terror.    

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