The Egyptian military completed large scale training maneuvers in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday. The official Middle East News Agency said the weeklong maneuvers – code-named "Badr-2010" – included an exercise to cross the Suez Canal as well as a simulation of an offensive thrust deep into what is termed as "enemy"- i.e. Israeli- territory. MENA further reported that helicopters, fighter jets, armored units, paratroopers and special shock troops participated in the military exercises and that similar drills were held in Sinai a week earlier. The government of Israel has protested against such exercises in the past due to the Jewish state being portrayed as the enemy in the drills. In 1979, Israel was pressured by United States President Jimmy Carter to surrender the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt when a peace treaty between the two nations was signed. Israel destroyed its Sinai city of Yamit when it left the Sinai. According to the Camp David Accords signed between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Egypt agreed not to deploy major military forces on parts of the Sinai close to the border with Israel. Egypt currently receives massive amounts of United States military aid and is considered to be the second biggest recipient of American weapons in the Middle East. Despite the country’s ostensible peace agreement with Israel, Egypt’s government remains a leader in the production of anti-Zionist propaganda. Israel is holding civil defense drills this week designed to prepare the country and its defense forces for various modes of possible attack on civilian areas.
