ABSTRACT
Israel learned a bitter lesson when Egypt's request for the withdrawal of UNEF-I from the Sinai in 1967 met with the prompt approval of the UN Secretary-General. This was followed by the June 1967 War. 1 Israel therefore insisted early on that the UN Force to be established under the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty not be withdrawn without the consent of the two parties, or by the positive vote of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Indeed, the Peace Treaty provides that
The Parties agree not to request withdrawal of the United Nations personnel and that these personnel will not be removed unless such removal is approved by the Security Council of the United Nations, with the affirmative vote of the five Permanent Members, unless the Parties otherwise agree (Article 4 (2)).
According to the MFO Protocol (Article 3), this provision may be reviewed and amended by mutual agreement of both parties. From this it is clear that withdrawal may be effected only by mutual consent of both parties.