Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has reinforced its military presence to block the
infiltration of Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip.

Security sources said Egypt’s military and Central Security Forces have
been bolstered in wake of the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

The sources said the military assessed that Hamas and other Islamist fighters would seek to join any Muslim Brotherhood revolt in Egypt.

“Islamist militias in Gaza are sending fighters and arms to Sinai to destabilize the area,” a source said.

[On July 10, at least two people were killed in a suspected Palestinian attack on a security checkpoint outside the divided city of Rafah. The sources said the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades toward the
checkpoint, one of which struck a passing civilian vehicle.]

The sources said Palestinians were believed to have played a major role in the attacks that followed Morsi’s ouster on July 3. They said the newly-arrived fighters were bolstering the presence of such groups as Hamas,
Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees.

On July 7, the Egyptian Border Guard blocked an attempt by 10 suspected
fighters to enter Sinai. The sources said the infiltrators, believed to have
included Hamas troops, emerged from the tunnel network that spanned Rafah.

“When they saw the Egyptian Border Guards, they ran back into the
tunnels,” the source said.

The sources said the suspected Gaza fighters left seven boxes of
bullets, grenades and other ammunition. They said the Egyptian military
determined that the infiltrators stemmed from the Hamas regime in the Gaza
Strip.

  Egypt military braces for infiltration of Islamist fighters from Gaza, Islamic Jihad, Mohammed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Popular Resistance Committees, Rafah