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Egypt to Deploy More Troops in Northern Sinai
(Ha'aretz) Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel - The Egyptian government announced on Saturday that, in cooperation with Israel, it has started deploying troops in northern Sinai to stop anarchy and terror there. The head of Egypt's forces in Sinai, Gen. Salah al-Masri, said the Egyptian interior ministry had reinforced its presence there with 150 police officers and members of special forces and other units, along with dozens of armored cars, in order to secure the main road between El Arish and Rafah; maintain control of the area close to the Israeli border; and defend the natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan, which has repeatedly been sabotaged over the last year. Egyptian sources confirmed that they had recently arrived at an agreement with Israel on the entrance of seven army battalions into Sinai - a total of 2,500 to 3,000 soldiers - within the framework of the accords between the governments on military activity, for the purpose of restoring order in the area. Israel remains skeptical about the Egyptian announcements, although it sees them as positive signs.