Inside Story: Sinai on the Brink

Can stability be brought to the volatile region that is home to one of the world's most important waterways?

Israel Issues ‘Urgent’ Warning of Terrorist Attacks in Sinai
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel on Tuesday night issued an urgent warning of impending terrorist attacks aimed at tourists in the popular resorts of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

The anti-terror office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said it was advising all Israeli tourists to leave the Sinai.

It asked families who had relatives on holiday there to contact them and update them on the warning.

It said it had “concrete evidence” of an attempt to kidnap Israelis who had crossed the Egyptian border to the peninsula’s Red Sea resorts.

The resorts, particularly Sharm el-Sheikh on the peninsula’s tip, are also popular with British and other European holiday-makers, and the Foreign Office was last night thought to be reviewing the situation.

Sharm el-Sheikh and the nearby towns of Taba and Dahab have all seen bomb attacks in recent years. Two Britons were among 70 people killed in the attack on Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005, while a year before 34 people were killed at Taba, on the Israeli border.

Twenty people died in the attack on Dahab in 2006.

Since then, Israeli intelligence agencies have focused on the threat posed by Sinai, which was under Israeli occupation until the implementation of its peace deal with Egypt in 1982. Israeli citizens are advised not to holiday in the area, but tens of thousands visit every year.

Last year, a tip-off from Israeli intelligence agencies led to a series of raids by Egyptian security forces on what it said were Hizbollah cells that had infiltrated the country to attack tourist sites, particularly those frequented by Israelis. >>> Samer al-Atrush in Cairo and Richard Spencer | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Israel Tells Nationals: Leave Sinai Immediately
HAARETZ: Counterterrorism unit warning of planned attacks during the upcoming Jewish holiday period.

Israel on Tuesday issued a travel warning for its nationals visting the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, advising them to leave the area immediately.

The warning came from the government's counterterrorism unit. The unit warned Israelis of planned attacks during the upcoming Jewish holiday period, which begins with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), at sundown on September 18.

The announcement mentioned tensions along the northern border of Sinai with the Gaza Strip, as well as recent threats from Hezbollah to strike at Israelis. >>> Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent | Tuesday, August 11, 2009