An Israeli Jew who lives near the Egyptian border is being held by Egyptian police after he crossed the border by mistake.
Sagi Shahori, 36, a resident of the western Negev’s Nitzanei Sinai, near the Nitzana border crossing, was bicycling over the weekend when he mistakenly crossed into Egyptian territory. The IDF confirmed that the flooding of several weeks ago washed away border markers, which apparently led him not to realize that he had left Israel.
An Egyptian border police force arrested him and took him to Rafiah, at the Egyptian-Gaza border, located to the north. The Israeli Foreign Ministry is closely following the case, and sources claim he will be returned to Israel today.
According to some reports, Shahori was carrying his personal weapon at the time. He is married and has a five-year-old son.
Last month, Egyptian police detained Yotam Feldman, an Israeli journalist from Channel 10, who tried to cross the border into Israel with an illegal African migrant. He was released after several days.
Illegal immigrants, smugglers and, to a lesser extent, terrorists often attempt to cross the 220-kilometer (135-mile) border between the Negev (Israel) and the Sinai (Egypt). Israel has demanded that Egypt step up its attempts to protect the border, and has announced plans to build a fence along the full length.