Egyptian authorities stopped a ship from Israel, owned by an Arab and loaded with explosives, according to an Egyptian newspaper reports quoted by Chinese news agency Xinhua.

The owner of the ship, "Joseph" [Yousef] Botryose El-Gabalwi, was arrested in Port Said and later released under court order. It is not yet known what citizenship he holds. He was prevented from leaving the country. 

The explosives were inside containers on the ship, but no other details were released, and it is not known if the material was destined for terrorists.

Terrorist activity in Egypt, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel, has been on the increase since the Hamas military coup in Gaza three years ago. Several rockets were fired at Eilat three weeks ago, one of them killing a Jordanian when the missile exploded in a hotel in Aqaba, across the gulf from Eilat.

Last January, 25 Egyptians were arrested on suspicion of planning to ship weapons and explosives to Hamas and to attack Jewish holy sites and American ships in the Suez Canal.