The IDF has beefed up forces along Israel’s borders with Egypt and Jordan out of concern that terror cells currently operating in the Sinai Peninsula will infiltrate into Israel, defense officials said yesterday.
Special Forces were deployed along the borders and were laying ambushes to catch terror cells that might try to infiltrate into Israel and particularly Eilat. Egypt has also beefed up its forces along the border with Israel.Last night, after weeks of quiet, a Kassam rocket landed in the Eshkol region in the Western Negev without causing injuries or damages. Defense officials said that the launching of the rocket could have been timed in line with the visit of US Special Envoy George Mitchell to Israel, who was meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the time.
It was the first Kassam attack since the end of last month, when two rockets struck the western Negev, causing neither casualties nor damage.
Yesterday, Egyptian officials said they discovered close to 900 kilograms of explosives near the border with the Gaza Strip and arrested three Palestinian men on suspicion of crossing illegally into Egypt.
Israeli defense officials said that the IDF was closely monitoring the situation in the Sinai but had confidence in Egypt’s ability to track and capture the terror cells.
In addition to Hizbullah operatives that are believed to be operating in Egypt, Israel also suspects that Global Jihad elements as well as Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups are also seeking to enter into Israel via the porous Egyptian-Israeli border.
Defense officials said that Israeli and Egyptian intelligence agencies were cooperating on the action in the Sinai. According to recent press reports, the Mossad supplied Egypt with the intelligence on the Hizbullah cell that was operating in Egypt.
{JPost/I-Insider/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
