Israel allows Egypt to deploy in Sinai

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 16 (UPI) -- Israel agreed to an Egyptian army request to deploy an additional two infantry battalions in the Sinai in the ongoing clampdown on terror, officials said.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon Monday gave Cairo permission to deploy the battalions in the el-Arish and Rafah regions as part of the Egyptian army's campaign to address the deteriorating security in the Sinai Peninsula, The Times of Israel reported Tuesday. Eleven Egyptian army battalions currently are deployed in the Sinai area.

A peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was signed in Washington in 1978. As part of the agreement, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula captured in the 1967 war and Egypt agreed the area would remain a demilitarized zone. Egypt must receive Israel's approval before deploying additional military forces in the Sinai.