JERUSALEM, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Israel is concerned about the
deployment of Egyptian armour in a push against militants in the
neighbouring Sinai desert, saying the vehicles' entry wasn't
coordinated and is in violation of a 1979 peace treaty, an
Israeli official said on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not
lodged any formal protest preferring to try and resolve the
issue in quiet contacts including U.S. mediation, to avoid
worsening ties with Cairo already strained since Hosni Mubarak
was toppled by a popular revolt last year.
Egyptian security sources said this week they were preparing
to deploy aircraft and tanks in Sinai for the first time since a
1973 war with Israel, in a crackdown on Islamist militants
blamed for killing 16 border guards in an Aug.5 attack.
The U.S.-brokered 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
sets strict limits on military deployment in the Sinai.
The Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of
anonymity, said Egypt had already sent "some" armoured vehicles
into the desert peninsula and that "Israel is bothered by the
entry of armoured vehicles in Sinai without coordination."
Egyptian television footage showed General Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi in Sinai addressing troops with tanks and heavy
equipment behind them. Other images from his visit broadcast by
Egypt's private ON TV showed a row of six tanks and five
armoured personnel carriers.
While Israel does not view the armour as a threat, the
official said, it wants to make sure it has a say over what
weaponry is deployed in the Sinai, which the peace treaty
intended as a demilitarised buffer zone.
"There is no precedent for armoured vehicles being deployed
in Sinai and certainly not without any coordination," he said.
Israel had urged Egypt to crack down on the militants, and
its security cabinet had approved an Egyptian request to use
attack helicopters in Sinai two weeks ago, after the Islamist
gunmen who attacked Egypt's security personnel also penetrated
Israel's border where they were killed.
But local media say Israel was worried coordination with
Egypt may suffer after a shakeup this month of Egypt's military,
including Islamist President Mohammed Mursi's dismissals of
officials Israel had long been in contact with.
In Cairo, Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Mursi, told Reuters
security measures in Sinai were "crucial" to Egypt's security.
An Egyptian military source told Reuters the Sinai security
sweep was in keeping with agreements reached with Israel a year
ago after eight Israelis died in a cross-border attack.
"We don't need to issue a daily report to Israel on the
operation as it is a matter of sovereignty and national
security," the source went on to say.
(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair, Yasmine Saleh and Omar
Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Myra
MacDonald)