Israel hopes for more Egyptian troops

Defence officials in Israel said that any requests made by Egypt to deploy additional military forces in the Sinai will be considered by Israel to take control of the peninsula and reveal a global jihad terrorist infrastructure.

Israel Defence Forces said that eight terrorists were killed and six were wearing explosive belts during a cross-border attack which was thwarted on Sunday evening.

Terrorists had stolen an armoured vehicle and crossed over into Israel and the IDF said the attackers were part of a global jihad terrorist group operating within Sinai.

Around 35 armed men stormed an Egyptian military base during the attack which saw 16 policemen and soldiers killed by attackers who were branded as infidels by Egypt.

Egypt has vowed to launch a crackdown throughout the Sinai and Israel has allowed seven battalions to be deployed by the Egyptians in the Sinai.

This permission has been granted despite the fact that the peninsula was meant to remain demilitarised under the peace treaty.

Both countries are interested in having a quiet border but diplomatic officials were doubtful that warmer ties would be created with a newly elected Egyptian government since there is currently no high-level diplomatic contact as during Hosni Mubarak’s rule.