Egypt says troop presence in Sinai aimed at securing borders

CAIRO

Egypt said late Saturday that its military deployment in the Sinai Peninsula is aimed at securing national borders and is consistent with a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

A statement came after the US news website, Axios, reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Trump administration to press Egypt to scale down a military buildup in Sinai. Israeli officials claimed the buildup violated the peace treaty.

“The forces present in Sinai primarily aim to secure the Egyptian borders against all risks, including terrorism and smuggling, and this is carried out within prior coordination with the parties to the peace treaty,” Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said in a statement.

It added that Egypt has never violated a treaty or agreement in its history and remains fully committed to preserving the peace accord.

Citing one US official and two Israeli officials, Axios said Netanyahu presented US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during their meeting Monday in Jerusalem, with a list of Egyptian activities in Sinai that he claimed substantially violate the peace agreement, for which the US acts as guarantor.

The Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel were signed in Washington by then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

The Sinai Peninsula was divided under the treaty into designated military zones with varying limits on troops and weaponry for Egypt and Israel.

Egypt also reiterated its rejection of any attempt to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip or to displace Palestinians from their land.

Cairo reaffirmed support for the establishment of a Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.