Israel Agrees to Let Egypt Increase Military Presence In Sinai in Wake of IS Attacks

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Israel’s broadcast Channel 2 News has reported that the IDF has green-lit an Egyptian move to increase its military presence in the Sinai. The Egyptians are making moves in the wake of Islamic State terrorist attacks in the Sinai which took more than 60 lives.

There were at least three suicide attacks and several Egyptian soldiers captive as well as some security vehicles.The terrorist attacks were carried out by an Egyptian branch of Islamic State known as Sinai Province.

The Egyptian military has declared that it killed more than 100 terrorists in its retaliatory attacks.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu sent official condolences to Egypt saying, “Terrorism is knocking on our borders. Islamic State is not only across from the Golan Heights, it is also in Egypt, across from Rafah, in other words across from our borders. And we are together with Egypt and many other states in the Middle East and the world in the struggle against extreme Islamic terrorism.”

The Prime Minister also warned the Israeli public that Islamic State does not just pose a threat from the country’s northern border from Syria. The terrorist organization has been advancing into western Syria near the border with the Golan Heights for some time. But now the group is also a threat to the south. Not just in the Sinai, but also in Gaza where it has entered into a conflict with Hamas.

The latter conflict is somewhat confusing strategically as Hamas, like Islamic State, is a Suni Islamic theocratic group.

So Netanyahu’s words, “ISIS is not just on the Golan, they are in Egypt as well, near Rafah, near our border.”

The question is, what does IS hope to gain in the Sinai and Gaza? Is it looking for a foothold for a base from which to attack Israel or is it just looking to attack every Arab country as part of its goal to establish a new caliphate throughout the Arab world.