Israeli FM rules out revision of Egypt peace treaty military clauses

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sharply rejected Egypt’s demand to revise the military clauses of its 1979 peace pact with Israel. “There is no chance of any change,” he said in a radio interview Sunday. Friday, an Israeli soldier was killed and a second injured fighting off a terrorist incursion from Egyptian Sinai. Regarding Cairo’s demand to open up the peace pact to permit higher levels of Egyptian military strength in Sinai, Lieberman noted that Egyptian troop and heavy weapons limits have already been mutually waived to fight off mounting Islamist and terrorist attacks on Egyptian and Israeli targets.

“The problem,” the foreign minister stressed, “is not the size of the forces but their willingness to fight, bring pressure to bear and do the job.”