Officials: Israel let Egypt boost Gaza border troops

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Egypt has discreetly boosted the number of troops deployed along the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, beyond those set in a 30-year-old peace accord with Israel, Israeli officials said Tuesday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said reinforcements started arriving after Hamas Islamists in Gaza blasted open the Egyptian border at Rafah on Jan. 23 in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the coastal territory.

"We don't see the current levels as a threat at the moment," a senior Israeli official said of the increased Egyptian troop presence. "We have not objected to it. But no long-term arrangement has been made." Israeli officials estimated that up to 1,500 Egyptian border guards were now along the Gaza border, double the formally agreed-upon level.

An Israeli defense official said Israel was aware of the reinforcements, calling it part of a "tacit agreement" to reduce the risk of another attack on the border.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/958407.html