Israeli security experts said that Israel, wary of harming its relations with Egypt, would have been unlikely to carry out an attack in Egyptian territory without coordinating it in advance with Egypt. That, they said, would indicate a new level of cooperation between the two countries since Egypt’s army commander, Gen. Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, replaced the country’s Islamist president last month, as well as the shared interest of the two sides in battling Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli officials have spoken recently of the close cooperation between the Israeli and Egyptian security establishments in their efforts to restore calm in the Sinai Peninsula. Israel has allowed Egypt to move forces and equipment into Sinai beyond what is normally allowed under the terms of the peace treaty, officials say. Israeli experts said that it was convenient for both sides to remain vague to maintain deniability and avoid any affront to Egyptian sovereignty. The explosions came a day after Israel closed its small airport in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat, which borders on the southern Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli military said that the two-hour shutdown was the result of “security assessments,” but gave no further details. But a former senior Israeli defense official said that the airport had been closed after Egypt sent Israel a warning about an attack originating in Sinai, which he said was a sign of heightened cooperation between the two sides. “The cooperation is not new; the level of cooperation is new,” the former Israeli official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic delicacy of Israel’s relations with Egypt nytimes/2013/08/10/world/middleeast/sinai-blasts-kill-up-to-5-islamic-militants.html?smid=tw-nytimesglobal&seid=auto&_r=0
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 03:05:51 +0000