Israel has complained again of alleged Egyptian violations of the Sinai interim accords. Defense Minister Ezer Weizman summoned the commander of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), Gen. Ensio Siilasvuo, to charge that the Egyptians are deploying 10,000 more troops in their limited forces zone than allowed under the 1975 agreements. Siilasvuo promised to relay the complaint to Cairo and flew there today for a meeting with the Egyptian Minister of War Gen. Mohammed Gamasy.
A similar complaint lodged by Israel several months ago brought a promise from Gamasy in July that he would order the withdrawal of unauthorized troops form the Sinai zone. But Israel says that Egypt now has 18,000 troops in the narrow strip east of the Suez Canal where a maximum of 8000 is permitted. Sources here have indicated that if the Egyptians do not pull back their troops Israel would increase the number of soldiers in its limited forces zone in order to maintain the military balance in Sinai.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.