Yaalon says Egypt is preparing to launch offensive in the Sinai

On Tuesday evening, the Channel Ten news website reported the Minister of the Israeli army, Moshe Yaalon, as saying that “the Egyptian army has reinforced the presence of its troops in the Sinai Peninsula as a proactive step to launch offensive operations against armed groups there.” He pointed out that the development of the Iron Dome system in the Eilat area was created to protect Israelis in the city.

Yaalon expressed his hope that the Egyptian army will succeed in the face of what he described as radical Islamists in the Sinai, noting that he reinforced the presence of his own troops in the last few days, as he is partaking in intense and consistent efforts against armed groups using attack helicopters.

In his remarks made during his inspection tour in the city of Eilat, where he met the commander of the Southern Region Sami Turjman and a number of other commanders in the region, Yaalon went on to say, “Israel allowed Egyptian military reinforcements to enter Sinai based on the military attaché of the Camp David peace treaty which requires them to give their consent to it.”

Yaalon pointed out that every Egyptian force wanting to enter the Sinai must first ask for permission from Israel and that Israel agreed to allow them entry so that they could combat armed groups there. He went on to praise the efforts of the Egyptian army, “both the army and other security agencies are carrying out bold and effective missions, especially within the span of the last two weeks.”

In other news, Yaalon touched on the subject of the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority saying that, “Netanyahu has not changed his policy for negotiations over the last five years; however, we see a clear change on the Palestinian side this time around.”

He explained that the negotiations will bring about many difficulties and that ‘we are dealing with the reality as it relates to both sides.’ He emphasized that it is beneficial to resume negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israelis.