Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed hope that Cairo adhere to the 1979 Camp David Accord, which says neither Israel nor Egypt should send tanks or military aircraft into the demilitarized Sinai peninsula, local media reported on Wednesday.

"We must make sure that every detail is upheld," Lieberman said on Tuesday, "otherwise we'll find ourselves in a slippery slope as far as the peace treaty is concerned," the Ynet news site said.

Israel wants Cairo to limit or remove its heavy armor and war aircraft from the peninsula, ostensibly deployed in recent weeks to quash terror groups using the lawless wilderness as a staging ground for attacks against both Egypt and Israel.

"No more than one division (mechanized or infantry) of Egyptian armed forces will be stationed more than 30 miles east of the Suez Canal," according to the peace treaty, Times of Israel said. Egypt, however, has streamed about seven divisions into the area, emplacing tanks near el-Arish in the northern Sinai.

Israel, Ma'ariv Hebrew daily reported Monday, sent Cairo a message to that effect via the White House, hoping the routing via the Americans would add diplomatic weight to the request.

Prime Minister Office spokesmen would not comment on the report when queried by Xinhua, and foreign and defense ministry sources were mum on the report.

An Israeli official, however, told The Jerusalem Post that security personnel on both sides were "in contact."

Commenting on the Egyptian move on Monday in The Washington Post, U.S. former middle east envoy Dennis Ross warned that "If this behavior continues, U.S. support, which is essential for gaining international economic aid and fostering investment, will not be halted. Softening or fuzzing our response at this point might be good for the Muslim Brotherhood, but it won't be good for Egypt."

While Israeli officials have been urging Egypt to enforce a crackdown on militants, some officials here are watching the military build-up with apprehension, since it marks the first time Cairo has sent in such forces since the 1973 war with Israel.

The Egyptian build-up came in the wake of a deadly militant attack on a border outpost on Aug. 5, which left 16 soldiers dead.

Egyptian security sources on Monday acknowledged that the government was streaming in armed forces, including tanks and other armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other gear, according to the Times of Israel.

U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland walked between the raindrops in trying to support the Egyptian moves, without slighting Israel.

"Without getting into our private diplomacy with one country or the other, I would make the general point that as the Egyptians work hard now to defeat terror and turn back other security threats in the Sinai, we've been supportive of those efforts," Nuland said Tuesday.

Turning to the Israeli side of the equation, she added that the military force would "not only enhance security in Egypt but also enhance security for neighbors, security in the region. And we have encouraged that lines of communication stay open in keeping with peace treaty obligations and that they make full use of the mechanisms that are available for transparency, for confidence- building."

Alan Baker, former Israeli Foreign Ministry counsel, said that "In Article III of the peace treaty, Egypt and Israel undertake ' to ensure that acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence do not originate from and are not committed from within its territory, or by any forces subject to its control or by any other forces stationed on its territory."

Writing on Wednesday in a monograph for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, "In the context of the present situation in Sinai and the enhanced terror activity by such organizations as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al-Qaida," Baker said, adding that, " this means that Egypt has the full sovereign responsibility and obligation to act in order to prevent any such terror activity which could pose a threat to Israel."

The Egyptian operation began a day after the combined militant attack on the border post, which continued with an attempted strategic terror attack into Israel that was quickly foiled by Israeli army forces.

On the night of the attack, several dozen armed militants stormed the post at the Rafah crossing point. Israeli Intelligence said the gunmen were al-Qaida affiliates.

The attackers then commandeered two vehicles. One vehicle, packed with more than 500 kg explosives, according to officials who spoke with Xinhua, blew up when it hit a gate to Israel. However, eight gunmen managed to plow the eight-wheeled military vehicle 1 km into Israel, where Israeli forces stopped their advance.