A point on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula that allows control of the passage of shipping through the Strait of Tiran between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Egypt used this position to prevent shipping to Israel. The United Nations Emergency Force was introduced to that location following Israel's withdrawal from Sinai in 1957 and remained there, guaranteeing freedom of navigation, until May 1967. Israel captured the position during the Six-Day War (1967) and remained there until after the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979, which guaranteed freedom of passage.
See also Sharm El-Sheikh Understandings.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..