Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak today refused a request to deploy Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula, reported Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The newspaper previously reported Barak's support of Egyptian troop deployment to shore up lax security in the troubled region where recent incidents have left both Israelis and Egyptians dead near the border. Security sources inside Egypt said that if Israel and Egypt were to sign an agreement, Egyptian troops would be sent to embattled hotspots on the Israeli—Egyptian border to prevent smuggling, infiltration and clashes with extremists, Haaretz reported.
