During recent years, different organizations have blown up a gas pipe that brought energy from Egypt to Israel and Jordan. They were Bedouins, but it could very well be that the jihadists assisted them.
The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to the presidency in Egypt at the end of June 2012 was the best news for the jihad fighters of Sinai, since they knew very well that this government would not act against them with determination because of the close ideological relations between the Brotherhood and the jihadists: both sides believe in the supremacy of Islam over all the other religions, both believe in the religious obligation of jihad, both see Israel as an illegitimate entity and both are in favor of implementing Shari’a on all circles of life in the lands of Islam. And indeed, Mursi reined in the military’s reactions against the jihadists in Sinai, and after they killed 16 soldiers in August 2012, Mursi even dismissed the military heads. The army waited for the right moment to get rid of Mursi and the jihadists that had jointly taken over in Sinai, and the opportunity came during the mass demonstrations that broke out in Egypt on the 30th of June, this year, 2013.
These days the army is busy clearing Mursi’s supporters out of the town squares of Cairo and Alexandria where they demonstrated during a month and a half, with many wounded. The jihadists of Sinai support the Muslim Brotherhood and their demand to return Mursi to the presidency. The army is convinced that there is a connection between the Brotherhood leadership and the organizations in Sinai, and the Brotherhood expects that the jihad organizations in Sinai will attack the army to ease the pressure on the demonstrators in the public squares. Therefore, there is a fair chance that these organizations will take revenge on the army for breaking up the demonstrations and for those who were killed among the Brotherhood. The revenge might come in the form of attacks on military and police targets in Sinai, or in the form of an attack on army camps and military vehicles inside of Egypt. Sometime around mid-July, 2013 the army claimed that a truck loaded with Grad missiles on its way to the area of Cairo was apprehended at the checkpoints between Ismailia and Cairo. If the claim is true, then we may expect the jihadist’s missiles will fly not only in the direction of Eilat but also in the direction of Cairo and Alexandria.
The jihadists of Sinai are not waiting for the Egyptian army with roses in their hands. They are preparing for a battle in which to achieve a victory will cost many losses. They are entrenched in the mountain crevices, in places where a tank is like a sitting duck. Fighting forces would need to arrive on foot while fighting their way up the slope of the mountain, or by helicopters that could be shot down relatively easily by firing from the ground. There are rumors that Israel is also involved in the events in Sinai, in intelligence and also operationally, and the activities that Israel has done and perhaps also will do, are coordinated with the Egyptian army.
The Two Main Jihad Organizations that Operate in Sinai:
“Majlis Shura al-Mujahadeen fi aknaf beit al-maqdas” – the “Advisory Council of the jihad Fighters in the Jerusalem Area”: an organization whose basis is in Gaza with many operatives in Sinai, took responsibility for launching the Grad on Eilat one week ago (the beginning of August. 2013), and is responsible for a number of attacks on police stations in north Sinai. This organization has a Palestinian agenda with a touch of Egyptian, and it operates under the ideological inspiration of global jihad.
“Jamat al-tuhid waljihad” – “the Unity and Jihad Group”: this group is part of the larger group – “jamat al-tuhid wal-jihad fi ‘Arab Afriqiya” – “the Unity and Jihad Group in West Africa”. An organization whose opinions and methods of operation are aligned with those of al-Qaeda.
Another group that has been mentioned in recent days is “Dar’a Sinai” – “The Shield of Sinai”. Its involvement in terror attacks is not clear.
This article was written in Hebrew by Dr. Mordechai Kedar for the August 16, 2013 issue of the Makor Rishon newspaper, and translated to English by Sally Zahav.