By William Tucker
Officials in Egypt petitioned the Israeli government to ease restrictions the Camp David Accords impose on military activity in the Sinai peninsula. Israel has approved the measure, thus allowing Egypt to increase its military footprint in the area to better cope with the increase in militancy as evidenced by the attack on Sunday. Cairo has launched a new counterterrorism offensive and the new assets should help the military cover more ground. Another move that Egypt made in response to the attack was the firing of intelligence chief, Mourad Mowafi, along with other top security officials. Additionally, the border crossing with Gaza was closed and smuggling tunnels have reportedly been sealed by the Egyptian military. Cairo has pointed the finger at Hamas for fostering the increase in Sinai militancy, but Hamas has denied the accusation. Hamas will likely crackdown on Gaza based militants it doesn’t directly control to appease the Egyptians.
Militancy in the Sinai is a problem that has been festering for years, but has increased in the wake of Mubarak’s ouster. Although there is a new governing administration in Cairo, the Egyptian military still retains a significant power base. The response by president Morsi to this recent attack appears to balance the military’s desire to maintain the peace arrangement with Israel against the desire by the new administration to maintain better relations with Hamas. While Egypt has made demands of Hamas in the wake of the attack, they are neither unreasonable, nor unattainable by the Gaza authorities. Of course, these actions may diffuse some tension in the short term, but there is still a long way to go.
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