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Egyptian military sources challenge Israeli press reports on Eilat operation Security experts reject Israeli allegations of Egyptian involvement in last month's Eilat attacks
Recent reports in the Israel press alleging an Egyptian role in last month's attacks in the Israeli port city of Eilat, which resulted in the death of 11 Israelis, has further strained relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv. Israeli dailies Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv both reported this week that official Israeli investigations into the 18 August operation had concluded that Gaza-based Palestinian resistance committees had recruited and trained several Egyptian nationals to carry out the attacks, providing them with both weapons and logistical support. According to Israeli investigators, the operation's main objective had been to infiltrate into Israeli territory and kidnap Israeli civilians or soldiers. The perpetrators of the attacks, Israeli investigators claim, had fired shots into Israel from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, while three other groups crossed into Israel where they attacked a number of Israeli vehicles. Egyptian security experts, however, reject the Israeli reports, stressing the lack of evidence. One Egyptian army source told Ahram Online that he doubted the reports were even official. "These reports can't be taken at face value," said Egyptian General Adel Suleiman, adding that the Egyptian leadership does not feel they are congruent with the available evidence. He suggested the reports were an attempt by Israel to justify its killing of six Egyptian military personnel on the border immediately following the Eilat operation. Suleiman noted that the Israeli reports contradicted the findings of Egyptian investigators, who found that shots originating from the Egyptian side of the border had only come in response to fire from Israel. He went on to explain that, according to ballistic evidence, the six slain Egyptian soldiers had all been killed by snipers. He added that the victims had carried only light weapons, as stipulated by the terms of the Egypt-Israel peace agreement. Suleiman believes the Israeli reports aim to silence criticism of the controversial Camp David Peace Agreement - signed by the two countries in 1979 - at a time when many Egyptian critics are increasingly calling for a modification of the treaty's terms. Like Suleiman, Cairo University political science professor Tarek Fahmy says the Israeli report amounts to little more than an attempt to justify Israel's killing of Egyptian border personnel. "The information provided by the report are only assumptions," said Fahmy. "The Egyptian leadership has refused to acknowledge it." According to one security source who requested anonymity, the Egyptian leadership is determined to amend the terms of the peace treaty, noting that the Camp David issue was the main reason behind a recent visit to Cairo by US Central Command chief James Mattis.
