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| Africa North | |
| Egypt tells Israel tanks needed in Sinai | |
| 2012-08-27 | |
| CAIRO: In the first direct contact with his Israeli counterpart since taking office, Egypt's new defense minister defended his country's increased military presence in the Sinai Peninsula, saying it is needed to fight terrorism and assuring him it is only temporary, Egyptian officials said Saturday. The officials -- one from Egyptian intelligence and another from the military -- said Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called Ehud Barak on Thursday in their first conversation since el-Sissi became defense minister earlier this month. The phone call followed grumbling from Israeli officials about not being consulted before Egypt's leaders deployed tanks to the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli defense ministry refused comment. An Israeli defense official said no conversation took place between el-Sissi and Barak. But as the new defense minister, el-Sissi at some point would have to speak with senior Israeli officials, particularly after they publicly expressed their concerns about Egypt's deployment of heavy weaponry to Sinai. Under the 1979 peace accord between the two countries, Egypt is allowed to have only lightly armed policemen in the zone along the border with Israel. The treaty stipulates that significant military moves by Egypt must be coordinated with Israel. Egypt used attack helicopters and armored personnel carriers in coordination with Israel to go after militants suspected of being behind the Aug. 5 killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. Later, however, Egypt deployed US-made M60 tanks to Sinai without consulting with Israel, which drew objections from the Israel despite the fact that it has long encouraged Cairo to crack down on militants in Sinai. Israel does not view the Egyptian military buildup there as a strategic threat.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Egypt has some awesome tanks but the article I read by an American serviceman working with them a dozen years back left me less than impressed with their maintanance and communications. Typical third world covet information to help your career instead of training those below you to handle the job they need to do. Israel would clean their clocks. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2012-08-27 14:37 |
| #2 So Egypt allows the terrorists into the Sinai and then claims it needs tanks in the Sinai to get rid of the terrorists. Why am I thinking they won't get rid of the terrorists? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2012-08-27 14:28 |
| #1 IAF concurs---target practice. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-08-27 09:12 |