Israel Will Not Accept Any Changes To 1979 Egypt Treaty

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that his country will not agree to "any kind of change" in its 1979 peace treaty with neighboring Egypt.

Following the overthrow of longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011, many Egyptian politicians -- including President Muhammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood movement -- have called for changes to the troop limits imposed on Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian leaders say the region is growing increasingly lawless and that the limits are an unacceptable infringement on Egypt's sovereignty.

Three gunmen and an Israeli soldier were killed in an incident along the border on September 21.

A jihadist group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes has claimed responsibilty for the incident, which they say was a response to a U.S. Internet film that ridicules the Prophet Muhammad.


Based on reporting by AP and AFP