<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Israel counterterrorism officials are considering legal moves to prevent Israelis from entering the Sinai Peninsula through the Taba Crossing due to increasing alerts of planned terrorist attacks.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Thousands of Israelis usually flock to the Sinai at the beginning of the Jewish New Year despite terror warnings.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” said Yehudit J., a pre-army teen interviewed by Israel National News. “It’s not as if there aren’t terror alerts in the rest of the Israel. That doesn’t stop anyone from riding the buses or traveling around the country. Why should I let it stop me from going to the Sinai? It’s beautiful there.”
Rachel, a young woman who just completed her army service, agreed. "It's not as if we haven't been raised to look around and watch out for ourselves," she said. "And we won't be alone. For that matter," she added bitterly, "Sderot is probably more dangerous at this point." The contention is one expressed frequently by Israeli youth who travel to the popular tourist area.
However, a new terror warning was issued against Israelis entering the Sinai just a day after Hizbullah terror operatives were nabbed by Israeli security services overseas for attempting to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli business people.
The threats by Hizbullah since the February assassination of its second-in-command, Imad Mughniyeh have combined with the increased terror warnings for the Sinai area to raise the risk of a terrorist kidnapping. Officials have also said that Global Jihad terrorists are training in and around the Sinai, as well as other Palestinian Authority-based terrorist groups. The travel advisory is expected to be in effect for several months.
Some 2,000 Hamas terrorists reportedly escaped into the Sinai Peninsula following the breach of the border with Egypt last January, after the Gaza-based terrorist group blew a hole in the barrier near the Rafiah Crossing. Egypt did not repair the break in the border fence for almost three weeks, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Authority Arab residents of Gaza – including thousands of Hamas terrorists – to flood into the country.
Most Gazans who raced through the border into Egypt went there to shop and visit friends and relatives, and returned to their homes within days. But intelligence sources reported that at least 2,000 terrorists made their way into the Sinai as well – and didn’t immediately return.
Moreover, other terrorists often travel back and forth from Gaza and Egypt by way of the numerous smuggler tunnels that honeycomb the area under the border. Egypt has in the past been criticized by Israel and the United States for its less-than-energetic response to find and destroy the tunnels, as well as to stop the smuggling of terrorists, weapons, ammunition, drugs, and other contraband into Gaza.
Israel cannot close the border on a full-scale basis due to existing agreements with Egypt. However, legal means are being studied to stop the tourists, for their own protection.
Terror Attack in Sinai on Sukkot in 2004
Four years ago (October 7, 2004) two major terrorist attacks in the popular Sinai resort town of Taba claimed the lives of 12 Israelis and 20 other nationals, including a number of local Egyptians. More than 120 other people were wounded in the attacks.
Both of the targets, the Taba Hilton Hotel and the Ras a-Satan camp grounds are Sinai holiday resorts which are frequented by Israelis. The Jews were celebrating the last night of the holiday of Sukkot at the time.
The blast at the Hilton Hotel struck at 10:00 p.m. on a Thursday night. It was caused by two separate car bombs, each containing about 200 kilograms of explosives that were detonated in the lobby of the building, causing part of the hotel to collapse.
Approximately 90 minutes later, two additional explosives occurred in the camping area at Ras a-Satan, located 45 kilometers south of Taba.
