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Israelis barred from Sinai over terror threat

September 26, 2011

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israelis have been barred from entering Egypt's Sinai Peninsula via the Taba crossing due to serious and credible terror threats.

Other foreign nationals were allowed to enter the area, according to reports

Over the weekend the Israeli military said it had increased its preparedness and raised the level of alert "following concrete information regarding the Hamas', as well as other terror organizations, intentions to execute another terrorist attack along the Egyptian border in the very near future."

By Saturday morning, Israelis were banned from using the crossing -- the first time that the border with the Sinai has been shut down since it was opened in 1982, according to Haaretz. The following day the border was reopened, but Israelis were prevented from entering the hotel and casino near the crossing.

In mid-August, eight Israelis and at least five Egyptian soldiers and police were killed in a coordinated terrorist attack on Israeli civilian vehicles near Eilat in southern Israel. The terrorists reportedly entered Israel through the Sinai.

Meanwhile, Egyptian security forces said Sunday that they had discovered and confiscated anti-aircraft missiles and shoulder rocket launchers in the Sinai Peninsula, according to the French news agency AFP. The weapons likely were destined for Gaza, according to the report.
 

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