Evening Update: Jerusalem Mum On Egypt's Troop Movement Into Sinai

This story just won't go away, and that fact is making the developments with Egypt more and more real. Right at a time when tensions with Syria, Iran and Lebanon (not to mention Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza) are peaking, now the border with Egypt is becoming a significant threat.

The update below has just been posted in the Jerusalem Post:

Jerusalem Mum On Egypt Move To Send Troops, Weaponry To Sinai

Egypt preparing to move tanks to Sinai for first time since 1973; Israeli officials refuse to say if Cairo has received permission; Dennis Ross: Egyptians are risking US support with current behavior.

Reflecting the acute sensitivity of the issue, Israeli officials refused to comment Monday on whether Jerusalem gave Egyptian authorities a green light to introduce tanks and aircraft into Sinai to fight terrorists there, or whether Cairo was unilaterally moving forces there in contravention of the 1979 Israeli-Egypt peace treaty.

According to Egyptian security sources, Egypt is preparing to use a combination of aircraft and tanks in Sinai for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in its offensive against terrorists there.

The plans to step up the operation were being finalized by Egypt’s newly appointed Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi as he made his first visit to Sinai on Monday

Disorder has spread in north Sinai, a region with many guns that has felt neglected by the central government since the overthrow of Mubarak.

The Camp David peace treaty placed strict limits on the military presence in Sinai, although in recent years Israel agreed to let Egypt deploy more forces there to stem weapons smuggling. These troop movements were allowed on an ad hoc basis, without reopening the entire treaty, something Israel does not want to do.

Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to US President Barack Obama on the Middle East and a senior director on the National Security Council, wrote Monday in The Washington Post that Morsy moved forces in Sinai without first notifying Israel – a requirement of the peace treaty.

“The administration’s position needs to be clear,” wrote Ross, who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If this behavior continues, US support, which will be essential for gaining international economic aid and fostering investment, will not be forthcoming. Softening or fuzzing our response at this point might be good for the Muslim Brotherhood, but it won’t be good for Egypt.”