The incident on the Egyptian border on Saturday in which three IDF soldiers were killed by an Egyptian police officer is a reminder of the threats that have come from the border region in the past.
Generally, the last decade has seen a reduction in these threats as Egypt’s military has brought peace and stability to much of the Sinai. However, drug smuggling and other issues continue to be a problem along the long border between Israel and Sinai.
In August 2011, there was an attack near Eilat. It was characterized as a rare incident at the time following the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 during the Arab Spring protests.
In that attack, which happened near Eilat on Highway 12, eight Israelis were killed in a bombing of an Egged bus. The attack was blamed on Palestinian terrorists who were operating in Sinai while at the same time, weapons were also arriving in Sinai from Libya and other places, with smuggling also happening to Gaza.
The incident was made worse by the fact that subsequent clashes led to the deaths of Egyptian forces.
Israeli soldiers guard in the border area between Israel and Egypt near Road number 10, southern Israel, on December 5, 2018 (credit: YOSSI ZELIGER/FLASH90)VOA News noted at the time that “Egypt said it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel following Israeli military action that killed three members of Egypt’s security forces along the two nations’ border. Israel says its military action was aimed at Gaza militants who had staged attacks inside Israel and that it regrets the deaths. But that has done little to calm public anger in Egypt.”
There was another serious incident where there was a cross-border attack in September 2012. The attackers approached the border, carrying various arms. They targeted soldiers who were in an area where a security fence was being constructed and also where migrants were trying to cross. An extremist group linked to Al Qaeda was allegedly behind the attack.
This attack happened around 40 kilometers south of Nitzana along the border. The Guardian noted at the time that “the militants commandeered two armored vehicles, which they drove towards the Israeli border. According to Arab media reports, one vehicle exploded on the Egyptian side of the border and the other broke through the security fence near the Kerem Shalom border crossing and was hit by Israeli air force planes.”
A larger border fence this time
Israel constructed a larger border fence along the border during this time. The fence was designed to be around five meters high. By 2013, most of this fence was complete. This coincided with a change in government in Egypt and the rise of current leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. By 2017, a 17 kilometers section of the fence was completed that raised the fence from five to eight meters high.
The fence played a key role in reducing smuggling and also migrants who used to try to cross the border in the early 2000s. Sisi has crushed the Sinai-based extremist groups in the last several years while smuggling to Gaza has also been reduced.
This means that in recent years, the threat from Sinai has shifted. The era when Sinai had terror groups that targeted tourists, hotels and even ships and aircraft, is now apparently long over.
Additionally, the time when Sinai had groups that used to massacre civilians and target security forces weekly, has also changed. On the border, the Egyptian security forces and their border patrol posts and forts appear secure.
While terror was reduced, drug smuggling wasn’t
The last weeks have seen several thwarted smuggling attempts from Egypt. These attempts have included more than NIS 300,000 in drugs in one incident and NIS 6,000,000 in another. In February, a massive amount of drugs, some 120 kg., was discovered with further reported drug smuggling attempts last November, December and April. Some 140 kg. were also intercepted in January. Therefore, it appears that some of the issues plaguing the border back in 2011 and 2012 have not shifted a bit.
Israel and Egypt enjoy close relations and security cooperation. Sinai however has long been a place where there are issues that affect stability, including terror threats, drug gangs and human smuggling.
Regional media in Iraq, Lebanon and the Gulf have taken an interest in the incident on Saturday. For Iran, this kind of report can embolden its own backing of extremists.
In recent weeks, Iran’s regime has boasted about the decline of the US and its allies in the region, including Israel. Israel has also been conducting a multi-week drill over the last week in which the US head of CENTCOM visited to see the drill.
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