Egypt: Sinai troop presence does not violate Israel peace treaty

Concerns have been raised as Egypt mobilises 40,000 troops to the Northern Sinai region in breach of conditions laid out in the country’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel; however, Cairo claims that the move is fundamental to enforcing the country’s borders and sovereignty, according to The Arab Weekly, September 21.

Egypt claims that various threats are being made that have left Cairo deeply worried about the region, particularly the prospect of a massive influx of Palestinian refugees being forced across the border from Gaza by Israel.

In a statement from the State Information Service (SIS), an agency closely linked to the President, Egypt dismissed international concerns, insisting it has “never violated any treaty or agreement throughout its history”

The agency released its response amid earlier reports from Axios and Haaretz that Netanyahu had asked US President Donald Trump to pressure Egypt into stopping what the Israeli Prime Minister said was a “military build-up” in the country’s north.

The move comes after Israel initially downplayed the increased military activity in the area in August.

In response, the SIS statement gave clear reasoning for Egypt’s heightened presence in the region, saying that Cairo opposed any action that would expand military operations in Gaza, force Palestinians into the Sinai peninsula, in a clear rejection of Israel’s ethnic cleansing and reasserted the right of Palestinians to their own sovereign and independent state based on the June 4 1967 borders. They also made it clear that the so-called ‘military build-up’ was taken in coordination with treaty partners and that Cairo was still committed to their peace treaty with Israel.

The SIS statement marks a clear rebuttal of Israel’s claims that Egypt is violating its treaty obligations, while the government in Cairo insists it is a necessity of regional security and to counter ongoing threats to their border.

This latest minor spat dates back as far as the signing of the treaty, with both sides disagreeing about the interpretation of the 1979 agreement. Particularly, its provisions about demilitarised zones in the Sinai peninsula.

Reports by Axios outlined Israeli concerns regarding Egyptian activities in the region, with claims of expanding airport runways, building of underground facilities at sites where supposedly only light military activity was to be permitted. The same reports also expressed concern about missiles in these locations, but following long-standing patterns of behaviour regarding claims of underground facilities and their threats, no evidence was presented to back up the claims they were deeply concerned about.

Washington acts as a guarantor to the 1979 treaty, which is why on September 15 at a meeting with Marco Rubio, Netanyahu allegedly presented a list of Egyptian military activities to the US Secretary of State that suggested Cairo had made several violations of the treaty.

The Camp David Accords split Sinai into various zones, each with varying military classifications that would permit different levels of activities on the peninsula.

Egypt has categorically rejected these claims, with Axios quoting directly from an Egyptian representative who said Trump has not reached out to Cairo in any way regarding the issue.

These tensions are are unmistakably tied to the Gaza genocide, where, according to The Lancet medical journal, Israel has killed anywhere between 64,260-183,000 people. Even according to Israel’s own internal figures according to a joint investigation by The Guardian, 972+ Magazine and Local Call, 83% of casualties in Gaza are civilians, which, if true, is a stark contrast to WWII figures, where civilian casualties are estimated to have made up 65% of all deaths.

For Egypt, the concern that is largely responsible for an increased military presence is the mass influx of Palestinians across its border, an issue which has drastically soured its relations with Israel.

The reaction to the Israeli claims by both the public and media in Egypt have been profoundly intense, with Egyptian broadcaster Ahmed Moussa saying to viewers that Netanyahu was “delusional,” continuing on to say that the Egyptian military’s actions to ensure border security needed “no permission from anyone on its own soil.” Its a sentiment which reflects popular rejections of Israeli interference in Egypts internal security policies.

Tensions have also heated since early September 2025, with Netanyahu and his office trading accusations with Egypt’s foreign ministry and SIS chief Diaa Rashwan yet again concerning Cairo’s opposition to forcibly displacing Palestinians onto Egyptian soil. Not to mention the Israeli plot that was uncovered by Egypt to assassinate Hamas officials in Cairo, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi describing Israel as an enemy for the first time since coming to power.

It remains as clear as ever that Sinai is inseparable from the wider issue of the war in Gaza, and the Palestinian struggle. The disagreements, covert actions against one another, and escalating rhetoric despite a peace treaty that has lasted more than 40 years, clearly shows the deep dissatisfaction on both sides.

While Egypt takes action to reinforce its border, Israel is fuelling a crisis that creates deep concerns for Egypt’s national security apparatus.

It remains clear that until the Palestinian cause is allowed to be resolved, this will be an issue that is increasingly prominent in Egypt.

The Arab Weekly, The Guardian, 972+ Magazine, Local Call, Statista, Maghrebi.org