Egypt to start deploying forces along Gaza border
Egyptian forces were to begin deploying in the Gaza border area later today under an agreement with Israel, the Israeli Defence Ministry said.
The Gaza withdrawal, meant to end a 38-year Israeli occupation of the area, began last month and is to be completed by mid-September.
About 750 lightly-armed Egyptian forces are slated to take up positions along the border, according to an agreement signed last week between Israel and Egypt.
The accord overrides a demilitarisation clause in the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries.
The Israeli Defence Ministry said the first Egyptian forces would arrive today. It gave no further details.
The forces are to deploy along a volatile corridor on the Gaza side of the border where Israeli-Palestinian fighting has been particularly intense. Israel wants the Egyptian forces to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip through underground tunnels.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has said that Israel will leave all of Gaza by mid-September, by which time the Egyptian forces should be fully deployed.
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