The 1979 treaty limits Egyptian forces in Sinai and Israeli forces on the border, under external verification. Gaza sits at its edge: Israel took the Philadelphi corridor and Rafah in 2024, and Egypt is now a guarantor of the Gaza ceasefire and its police-training partner.
A symmetric arrangement: it reads the same from either side. Authored once, on one record.
The arrangement
- Status
- ActiveIn force and operating. Says nothing about how well it is working, or about which way it is heading.Last material change: 2024-05.
- What it covers
- Legal and treatyBorder securityDiplomaticCategories the arrangement is documented to include. Not a measure: a relationship covering more of them is described in more detail, not held more firmly.
Summary
The Treaty of Peace signed in Washington on 26 March 1979 ended the state of war and returned Sinai to Egypt. Its Annex I divides the peninsula and the border into zones with force limits: a mechanised division of up to 22,000 personnel in Zone A, four border battalions in Zone B, only UN forces and Egyptian civil police in Zone C, and up to four Israeli infantry battalions and no tanks or artillery in Zone D on the Israeli side, with verification at least twice a month; the Multinational Force and Observers took over the UN role under a 1981 protocol. The Gaza border was arranged separately in 2005. Israeli forces seized the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah crossing in May 2024. Israeli officials and media have asserted Egyptian deployments in Sinai beyond the annex's limits; these are claims, not verified findings, and many deployments have been agreed bilaterally. Egypt is one of the four guarantors of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire; the International Stabilization Force authorised by Resolution 2803 is to act in close consultation with Egypt and Israel; Egypt is the lead training partner for Gaza's vetted police; and Rafah reopened for people on 2 February 2026 with the EU border mission, intermittently since.
Why it matters
The treaty is the oldest standing arrangement in the module and the one that held through every Gaza war. Gaza's southern border is where it now carries weight: who controls Philadelphi and Rafah, and the terms on which Egypt trains the police and hosts the technocratic committee, are part of whether the 2025 plan can be implemented at all.
Agreements
- Treaty of Peace between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel, with Annex I (security arrangements) · signed 1979-03-26
UN Treaty Series vol. 1136, No. I-17813. Annex I, Article II sets the zone force limits; Article VI provides for UN forces and observers to verify at least twice a month, a role the Multinational Force and Observers assumed under the 1981 protocol (not re-read).
Related events
- The Egypt–Israel peace treaty 26 Mar 1979
Diplomatic · Territorial change
- Israel takes the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor May 2024
Military · Territorial change · Humanitarian
- Rafah reopens for people with the EU border mission 2 Feb 2026
Humanitarian · Diplomatic
What remains unknown
- The 2005 Agreed Arrangements on the Gaza–Egypt border are not published in the UN Treaty Series and were not read.
- The status of Israeli forces on the Philadelphi corridor under the 2025 plan is not established from any source read.
- Asserted Egyptian deployments beyond the annex's limits are not verified, and any bilateral agreements permitting them are not published.
All Levant relationships Open in Explore
Assessed as of — 2026-09-29 Last reviewed — 2026-10-11