On April 7, Israeli troops found an IED along the Egyptian border during
a routine patrol, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said the bomb was detonated and nobody was
hurt.
"The area contains numerous Bedouin smugglers, and they could have been
working with terrorist elements," the source said.
This marked the second attempted IED attack along the Egyptian border
over the last six months. In November 2009, Israel's military identified a
man with a bag that later was found to contain a 15-kilogram bomb.
Israel has sought to bolster cooperation with Egypt to secure their
joint border, including the construction of a security fence. The
cooperation has included Egyptian efforts to block weapons
and other smuggling to the Gaza Strip.
For its part, Egypt has been constructing an underground barrier along
most of its 14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip. The project has led to the collapse
of several Palestinian tunnels, including one in April 2010.
On April 8, Egypt reported the recovery of two Palestinian bodies killed
in the Gaza tunnel collapse during the previous day. Another Palestinian was
found alive by Egyptian security forces.
