The Egyptian military met with their Israeli counterparts last week for a tri-annual meeting that has taken place continually since 1982. According to a statement released on the Egyptian army's official Facebook page, the meeting concerned both securing the common border and military communication. The border between the two countries has been a hotbed of activity on both sides, with rockets launched into Israel and smuggling tunnels to Gaza destroyed by the Egyptian army. Fears of militants travelling from Gaza to Egypt have fuelled an intense military campaign in North Sinai since Mohamed Morsi's ouster on 3 July. The three meetings, which take place once a year in Tel Aviv, Cairo and Rome, have grown more important recently as a Sinai based, Qaeda-inspired militant group, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, has posed an increasing risk to both the army and security forces in Egypt. The army statement denied the meeting had discussed any form of military cooperation with Israel. This follows news that Israel had encouraged the US administration to complete the sale of 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt to reinforce its efforts to fight Sinai militancy. Israel's cooperation with American and Egyptian officials, according to some reports, is crucial for stability in Egypt's Sinai. Home-grown militant organisations like Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which profit from the lawlessness of Sinai, have shown the ability to attack population centres in Egypt and even targets in Israel. The army's Facebook post comes in response to reports on the subject published by Israeli papers.
