Al-Qaeda in Sinai

June 3, 2011 By 13 Comments

It started early this week when a “senior Egyptian security official” told the Egyptian-based Al-Hayyat TV channel that over 400 Al-Qaeda members had made their way into the Sinai Peninsula. They were said to be composed of Palestinians, Bedouins, and foreign Arabs, and Egyptian security forces were said to be pursuing them since they were “planning to carry out terror attacks in Egypt.”

The official told Al-Hayyat that they had already carried out “attacks against [Egyptian] security forces in the Sinai city of El Arish.”

The report seemed to gain credence on Monday when Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “Egypt is having a hard time realizing its sovereignty in Sinai. International terror organizations are stirring in Sinai and their presence is increasing due to Sinai’s connection to Gaza.”

Although Netanyahu left it vague, that “due to” can work both ways: terrorists in Sinai, particularly if intent on attacking Israel, can make their way into Gaza, and terrorists in Gaza—especially now that Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing—can make their way into Sinai.

Although it may have gotten a significant boost this week, the problem of Al-Qaeda and other global jihadist forces in Sinai is not new. Last February 5, a gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan was blown up in northern Sinai, and it was blown up again on April 27. The attacks are attributed to local Bedouins, global jihadists, or a collaboration between the two.

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Filed Under: Daily Mailer, FrontPage
About

P. David Hornik is a freelance writer and translator living in Beersheva and author of the new book Choosing Life in Israel. He blogs at http://pdavidhornik.typepad.com/.

  • SHmuelHaLevi

    Anywhere Islamic gangs are allowed to form unchecked one can count on brutality, violence, murder, torture and in general, mayhem.
    It is intrinsic to the cult of death.

    • Buglike

      To make the above statement even more accurate just remove the word "gangs".
      We are dealing with a subset of humanity…down on the roach level.

  • Tziona

    Israel should me stating loud and clear that if Egypt wants to break the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (as it clearly wants to) then the Sinai should revert to Israeli control. That was the deal: Israel gets peace, Egypt gets the Sinai… if Egypt won't give Israel peace, then Israel gets the Sinai back. Simples.

  • Shalom Freedman

    As if all this is bad enough there are increasing reports about economic deterioration in Egypt and a society moving in the direction of chaos. This looks like a scenario which is made for Muslim Brotherhood increased power. It seems unlikely that the regime will make a completely radical return and threaten Israel militarily as that would cause them vital economic American aid- but who knows?

  • Fred Dawes

    Anywhere that islam is allowed to form anyplace that Muslims can come as one people will be the end of that idea of freedom and laws.
    We as a people are about to disappear under the foot of obama and if Israel takes the path of fools as we have it will disappear into a evil place as the USA Will soon.
    If the muslim will not get peace TO Israel IT must use its WMD'S and face facts egypt is under the control of the brotherhood of evil.

  • Ehud Barak

    We shall make a big noise but do nothing about this – after all, we love our peace partners, love, Ehud Barak (deliberate serial war loser and #2 politician in Israel)

  • TheDesertSleuth

    Take heart, Israel. As General Gordon told the Mahdi, in the movie "Khartoum;"
    "If I die by your religion, you shall surely die by mine." Gordon was killed two days
    before reinforcements arrived. He died by the hand of man. The Mahdi, however,
    died about three months later, under mysterious circumstances; he wasn't killed.

    Israel will survive.

  • jasonz

    look we are gonna hear more and more of these. we as american citizens need to prepare ourselves to fight. i mean fight to kill. if we rely on the govt and courts to do anything, we will be lost. look at the UKthats where we are headed! where muslims can walk down the street threatening to kill without any reprocussions. but if you say its bad then you are wrong. Arm yourselves ladies and gentlemen. prepare your selves to have to be the ones to kill inorder to survive. once it starts not one of them can be left. none of them can be safe not women, not men, not children, not the elderly. why? because none of them on our side will be safe. dont count on god or the courts or the govt to help. they are watchers at best and usually accomplices. for any onf you who want to argue with me, then bring it on. my first question to you will be whats your plan? what will you do to protect America

    • TheDesertSleuth

      My plan, to paraphrase Churchill, is to "fight in the streets and in the fields; in the cities and on the beaches, and in the hills," and to never, never surrender; until the
      Islamists back down, or are soundly defeated.

    • Fred Dawes

      You are right with the coming total money collapse of this government we who want freedom over total mass enslavement must now get what is happening or die like dogs, its a fight for life over the ideals of people like obama and his brothers of evil.

  • WilliamJamesWard

    What we see is the ongoing crumbling of the barriers that protect Israel, if it
    continues Israel will be naked, totally exposed to Islamist agression. The
    Israeli Governent should have a war plan, be prepared to implement it or
    expect to end up like Yasser Arafat, hiding in and living in the bathroom as
    their last frontier. Maybe Canada will send in a military contingent to help.
    William

  • Iron Mike

    The US needs to stop all aid to Egypt.

  • sandykramer

    Taquiya