US Considering Withdrawal of Troops from Sinai

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper is considering the withdrawal of US troops from the international peacekeeping force in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, World Israel News (WIN) reports. Established in 1981, the purpose of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) organization is to monitor adherence to conditions of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty.

Together with Israel and Egypt themselves, the US was instrumental in setting up the MFO in the newly demilitarized Sinai: the United Nations Security Council had said it would be unable to do so for fear Russia would veto the idea.  Because of the presence of the MFO, Israel has allowed Egypt to send troops to central and eastern Sinai to deal with jihadi militant groups in these areas. The MFO currently has 1200 soldiers from 12 other countries, including Italy, France, Fiji, and New Zealand.

The Defense Secretary reportedly plans to withdraw American troops from the force as part of a worldwide cost-cutting review, WIN reports. This would not be the first time such a withdrawal took place: In 2016 the US pulled around 350 soldiers, leaving some 400 in place.

Officials in Israel and the State Department are against the move, WIN reports. There are concerns the peacekeeping force would be weakened as Egypt fights against ISIS elements in the area. Thousands of Egyptian soldiers have been killed by ISIS since 2011; ten were killed last month.

In a tweet on May 7, Wall Street Journal reporter Jared Malsin said: “Though its mission isn’t about ISIS, the MFO is de facto the last independent monitor of the hidden conflict in Sinai, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced amid brutal attacks by ISIS and heavy Egyptian army shelling.” 

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