In 1979,
following the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, the United
Nations decided not to continue their peacekeeping mandate on the
Sinai Peninsula. The terms of the treaty required the presence of
international peacekeepers to ensure that both Israel and Egypt kept
to the provisions regarding military build-up along the border.
Initially, the peacekeeping force was provided by the US Sinai Field
Mission, while efforts were made to persuade the UN to change its
mind. When it became clear that this would not happen, Egypt, Israel
and the United States opened negotiations to set up a peacekeeping
organization outside the framework of the UN. On 3 Aug 1981, the
Protocol to the Treaty of Peace was signed, establishing the
Multinational Force and Observers. The MFO assumed its mandate on 25
Apr 1982, the day that Israel ceded sovereignty of the Sinai Peninsula
to Egypt. In 1995 the United States experimented with a composite
battalion consisting of National Guard soldiers from Virginia and
Maryland, and Regular Army soldiers from the 82d Airborne Division and
the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Canada's
contribution began in Mar 1986, with a 136 person Rotary Wing Aviation
Unit as well as 8 staff officers for MFOHQ.
