#ExIDF #Officer #Claims #Egypt #Started #Planning #Attack #Israel
CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, 27 Mar 2024 15:33 IWST
Illustration. Egyptian tanks at the Rafah border. (AFP/KHALED DESOUKI)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
A former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer claims Egypt began planning to attack Israel soon.
Lieutenant Colonel Eli Dekel said this after seeing the movements of Egypt as it prepared its troops to attack Israel.
He saw that Egypt had built a number of state security infrastructures that could threaten Israel’s sovereignty.
“In 2014, after a period of regional unrest and the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt in 2013, the construction of military infrastructure in Sinai accelerated, and at the same time the process of purchasing advanced weapons began,” Dekel wrote in a research report, as quoted from Middle East Monitor.
“This process ranked the Egyptian army as the 12th most powerful army in the world and pushed Israel to 18th place globally,” he added.
Dekel also criticized how the Israeli government views its relationship with Egypt as a friendly country and not an enemy.
He is worried that Egypt could attack Israel at any time if its government does not seriously respond to the various threats that could occur.
However, Egypt had entered into a peace agreement as a result of several wars that occurred several years ago.
An agreement known as the Camp David Agreement with Israel in 1979 stated that Tel Aviv withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula. The agreement limits the number of troops on both sides and allows Israel to focus on other matters.
If Egypt cancels the agreement, then Israel can no longer rely on its southern borders as a calm area, including the area near the city of Rafah.
This weakened the Israeli military because Egypt held strategic areas along the border.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also confirmed that his country is fully committed to upholding the peace agreement with Israel.
“There is a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which has been in force for the last 40 years, and we entered into the agreement confidently and effectively and will continue to do so at this stage,” Shoukry said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.
However, Israel’s attack on Rafah has so far not been enough to ignite Egypt. Egypt is still trying to resolve the conflict by acting as a mediator in the peace agreement between Hamas and Israel.
(blq/bac)
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