Israel, Egypt agree on troops
2005-08-01 22:58
Jerusalem - Israel and Egypt have finalised an agreement to deploy hundreds of Egyptian troops along the border with the Gaza Strip after Israel's upcoming withdrawal from the area, Israeli defence officials said on Monday.
The officials said 750 Egyptian forces would be stationed along the border.
They said the deal would allow Israel to pull its troops out of the volatile border area, a site of frequent clashes with militants and arms smugglers.
The deal, which has been in negotiations for months, was wrapped up after a trip to Egypt by a top defence official, the officials said.
Israel is planning on uprooting all 21 settlements in Gaza in two weeks.
But the fate of the border area had remained unclear until the deal with Egypt was reached.
- AP