Israel Matzav

Report: Egyptian army killed or arrested dozens of Hamas terrorists in Sinai, Hamas retreats

Egyptian troops have killed dozens of Hamas terrorists in Sinai in a move that has caused Hamas to abandon the area.

Egyptian security forces have killed dozens of armed men and arrested hundreds more as part of a crackdown on extremist cells operating in the Sinai Peninsula, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Thursday.

At least 32 Hamas fighters that entered Sinai through underground smuggling tunnels and joined the cells were among those arrested, according to the report.

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Hamas officials have renounced involvement in any activities in Sinai, while Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has declared several times that his organization would not interfere in internal Egyptian affairs.

Egypt would like  to keep the party going, and is seeking permission from Israel (required under the Camp David treaty) to flood Sinai with troops to root out the Islamists. 

Egypt is seeking permission to send thousands of soldiers to Sinai, in order to battle Islamist groups that have ensconced themselves there after fleeing Egypt's major cities. The Times of London said that Egyptian's military rulers had filed the request for a major deployment in Sinai earlier this week.

According to the Camp David Accords, in which Israel surrendered Sinai, liberated in the Six Day War, to Egypt, only police and other peace officers are allowed in Sinai without the permission of Israel and the U.S., also a signatory of the agreement. That tenet of the Accords essentially demilitarized Sinai, although Egypt has several times in the past sent in army troops to deal with specific security situations.

The current request would see the largest number of Egyptian troops in Sinai since the Yom Kippur War, and their mission would be more open-ended. Many Islamists, members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups, have fled Cairo and Alexandria in recent days as the army clamps down on their movements, in the wake of the deposing of former President Mohammed Morsi.

Egypt has already sent several brigades of troops into Sinai, but military officials say much more force is needed, as the soldiers are facing heavily armed terror groups affiliated with Al Qaeda. On Wednesday, Al Qaeda terrorists killed a soldier and civilian in Sinai, while Islamist groups fired missiles at an Egyptian army outpost in Sinai, killing two soldiers and injuring six.

According to the report, Israel is inclined to grant the request. The question is how we ensure that those guns aren't turned against us. But so far, it seems good that Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood are gone.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Egypt, Egyptian army, Egyptian-Israeli border, Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Hamas, Islamist, Sinai

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:06 PM