| The Israeli parliament has approved a deal to hand control of a buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border to Egyptian security forces after Israel completes its pullout from the territory. The agreement, sanctioning the deployment of 750 Egyptian border police on the Egyptian side of the Gaza Strip frontier to replace Israeli troops stationed in the volatile so-called Philadelphi Corridor, passed by a vote of 53-28 on Wednesday, the Knesset said. The deal was approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet on Sunday and brought to parliament after months of discussions, in which ministers demanded assurances Egypt would not allow weapons to move in and out of Gaza. Some Israeli security officials have expressed concern that giving up the buffer could make it easier for armed Palestinian groups to slip more sophisticated weapons into Gaza. |