The Israeli military, in an unusual statement, disclosed an alert by its
forces of a Hamas attack from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The statement said
Hamas was working with other insurgency groups in Sinai for an imminent
strike.
"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has increased readiness and raised its
alert following concrete information regarding the intentions of Hamas as
well as other terror organizations to execute another terrorist attack along
the Egyptian border in the very near future," the statement said on Sept.
23.
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The military did not indicate where Hamas might strike along the
205-kilometer Egyptian-Israeli border. The statement said Hamas could be
seeking to counter efforts by the Palestinian Authority to mobilize
international recognition of a state in the West Bank and Gaza Stirp.
"Military sources suggest that this may be an attempt to sabotage
Palestinian Authority developments in the United Nations," the statement
said.
In August, nine Israelis died from what military sources asserted was an
attack by Hamas in cooperation with Al Qaida-aligned elements in Sinai. The
force of an estimated 25 Islamic fighters struck Israeli military and
civilian vehicles near Israel's southern port of Eilat.
The sources said the military statement was meant to alert both Israelis
as well as the military regime in Egypt of an imminent Hamas attack. They
said previous efforts to warn Egypt did not result in any significant
bolstering of security in Sinai.