In order to guarantee unrestricted maritime access of Israel to the Gulf of Aqaba which contain the Tiran and Sanafir Islands, US-led peacekeepers will be replaced by cameras.
In order to maintain unfettered access for international commerce to the Gulf of Aqaba, whose shoreline is shared by Israel and three Arab countries, officials announced on Thursday that remote-controlled cameras will take over from US-led peacekeepers.
Between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the deserted islands of Tiran and Sanafir. Egypt gave up control of the islands to Saudi Arabia in 2016.
Israel’s only water access to its southern port of Eilat is through the Gulf of Aqaba, which is crucial for its commercial relations with Southeast Asia.
The tiny Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) detachment on Tiran will be leaving, according to US President Joe Biden, who made the announcement during a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia last week.
The MFO oversees a 1979 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that was mediated by the United States. To maintain unrestricted access to and from the Gulf of Aqaba, peacekeepers were stationed atop Tiran and across the demilitarized Sinai.
Egyptian, US, and Israeli consent are required for any MFO redeployment from the island. None of those nations, the MFO, or both have publicly mentioned the contingent’s departure date or potential outcomes.
“A camera-based system will take the role of the peacekeepers in Tiran and Sanafir Island.”
However, a representative from one of the nations informed the news agency that “A camera-based system will take the role of the peacekeepers.”
The cameras at an MFO base near the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) across the Straits of Tiran from the now-Saudi-held islands, would be modified for the job, according to two officials from one of the other nations.
According to a diplomatic source who has been to Tiran, the MFO also had cameras there. Such cameras could require security coordination between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which have no official relations if they are stored and used.
The deal allowed for cameras to be installed at the contingent’s current facilities, leaving open the potential of putting locations in both Sharm el-Sheikh and Tiran, according to a person in Washington familiar with the situation.
Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Herzog stated, “It was crucial to Israel that as part of this process there be no compromising the pledge Israel acquired from Egypt, back with the peace treaty, most particularly on freedom of shipping.
He informed Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM that “this situation has been addressed.”
