Israel has complained to the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) that Egypt has violated the interim agreement by the large number of troops it has brought into the Sinai for military exercises.
The Sinai agreement set a fixed number of troops both sides are allowed to maintain in the areas just beyond the buffer zones. Egypt has in the past brought in additional troops for military exercises but since they returned to the west bank of the Suez Canal after the war games were completed, Israel has not protested.
However, the large forces brought over to the east bank of the Suez last week have remained for a longer period than usual, resulting in the Israeli complaint. In addition, Israeli sources report signs in the Arab world of hectic military preparations in what is considered here an apparent effort to put pressure on Israel to accept Arab terms for a Middle East settlement.
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