Egypt has not reached a final agreement with Israel to increase the number of Egyptian forces in Sinai, an Egyptian official said on Friday. The same source, which refused to be identified, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that negotiations to allow more Egyptian forces into Sinai remain ongoing. So far, agreement has not been reached on the number and nature of the forces, their arms, and whether they will include tanks. The Economist reported on Friday that the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will agree to let Egypt deploy thousands of troops in Sinai, in order to tighten security. It also reported that Barak said Israel would also allow Egyptian helicopters and armored vehicles into Sinai. However, no tanks would be let in, other than one battalion already stationed there. The agreement signed in 1979 to end the state of war between the two countries returned Sinai to Egyptian hands without sufficient security to maintain stability. According to the agreement, the peninsula is divided into three sections: A, B and C. It sharply limits the number of armed forces in section C, which is adjacent to Israel. Translated from the Arabic Edition
