FM in Cairo to discuss security in Gaza after pullout

[Gimel]

Israel and Egypt are "very close" to an agreement allowing Egypt to move more troops into the border region to stop smugglers moving weapons into the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Monday.

The agreement would not require amendments to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979, which limits the type of forces Egypt can deploy on the border, he told a news conference after talks with Egyptian presidential adviser Osama Al Baz.

"We are now very close to implementing this understanding between Israel and Egypt that will allow them to have more than 100 troops, more than 100 soldiers, that will be in the Egyptian part of the border," Shalom said.

But Al Baz told reporters: "It's not a matter of us doing anything particular for the sake of Israel.

LInk..

A face-saving statement by Al Baz. Doesn't want to appear to be friendly with the Jewish state