Officials dismiss Israeli claims that Egyptian aircraft regularly violate Israeli airspace, reports Amira Ibrahim Israeli allegations that Egypt is violating Israeli airspace near Eilat made their appearance just when relations between Egypt and Israel appeared to be warming up. Since the 1979 peace treaty Egyptian aircraft have been permitted to cross into Israeli airspace along fixed corridors but, reported The Jerusalem Post, "in the past six months there have been at least 25 unauthorised penetrations of Israeli airspace by Egyptian aircraft. All of them have been by passenger jets, not military aircraft. The matter has been taken up at the highest levels but so far the Egyptians appear to have done nothing to stop it." Other press reports in Israel said that any planes violating Israeli airspace in the future will be shot down with Israeli Air Force (IAF) Hawk anti- aircraft missiles or by fighter planes. This week Egypt sent a strongly-worded letter to the Israeli government following a two-week investigation into the official complaint forwarded by the Israeli government concerning the violations. The investigation conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority concluded that there was no basis for the complaints. "Israeli claims are totally unfounded," said Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq during a press conference on Sunday. "They do not have any evidence to support their claims nor did they pass any complaint to the international bodies responsible." "Passenger aircraft are usually monitored on the radar from take off to final destination and are equipped with the most advanced navigation equipment that directs them along international flight routes without deviation," he continued. Shafiq, an ex-air force commander, said that it was Israel that had repeatedly penetrated Egyptian airspace and that an official complaint to this effect had been forwarded to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). "Israeli aircraft have previously violated Egyptian air space and we informed both Israeli authorities and the ICAO demanding a stop to such violations. The complaint was supported with radar maps, technical reports and records," Shafiq said. The minister added that air traffic between the four countries -- Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Egypt -- using corridors over the Sinai Peninsula had been settled for 10 years. "But," he added, "we have now agreed with Saudi Arabia and Jordan to shift air navigation routes away from Eilat. We have also informed the Israelis and the ICAO of the new modifications." "We can only interpret this fuss within the context of Israel's usual keep-them-on-the- defensive approach," commented one Egyptian official. "We told them in an official note, and through other communications, that their threats are totally unacceptable and that they will cause great harm to efforts promoting closer Egyptian-Israeli rapport," said an Egyptian diplomat, adding that Egypt had made it clear that it would seek the intervention of the relevant international aviation bodies to clarify the position should any further allegations be made.
