Jerusalem: Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Friday that Tel Aviv will not accept alterations to its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, as relations between the two countries continue to fray.
"There is not the slightest possibility that Israel will accept the modification of the peace treaty with Egypt," Lieberman was quoted as telling Israeli Public radio.
"We will not accept any modification of the Camp David accords," he added.
Lieberman’s comments have come at a time when the ties between Egypt and Israel have soured, with speculation that the government of Egypt`s Islamist President Mohamed Morsi could seek to alter parts of the decades-old treaty.
The issue of security in Egypt`s Sinai, which borders Israel and has increasingly become a haven for militants, has dealth another setback to the bilateral ties as they militants have frequently used the territory as a launching ground for attacking the Jewish state.
Today, an Israeli soldier and three militants who infiltrated from Sinai were killed in a clash along the border, after troops opened fire on the gunmen as they crossed the frontier.
Israel has urged Egypt to tackle the growing lawlessness in Sinai, and Cairo has responded by boosting its military presence in the peninsula, but that has also raised concern in the Jewish state, because the Camp David treaty limits the number of Egyptian troops that can be present in the territory.
"Egypt must fulfill its obligations in Sinai," Lieberman said today.
Egypt launched an unprecedented military operation in the peninsula after militants killed 16 Egyptian border police in northern Sinai on August 5.
Israel has warned that it expects Cairo to withdraw the military reinforcements once the operation was over.
With Agenc Inputs
