Attackers from Egypt kill 7 inside Israel

JERUSALEM — Squads of gunmen armed with heavy weapons and explosives crossed into southern Israel from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, killing seven Israelis in an audacious series of attacks, officials said. The violence stoked concerns about Palestinian militants exploiting instability in Egypt.

The attacks began around midday and lasted for about three hours. Israeli security forces tracked down some of the assailants and killed several in a gunbattle, military spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. Defense officials said three bodies were booby-trapped and Israeli TV channels said seven attackers were killed. There was no immediate word on whether any were captured alive or exactly how many in all were involved.

Israel almost immediately said the attackers came from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and made their way through Sinai, which borders both Israel and Gaza. That raised the specter of an Israeli military reprisal against the Palestinian territory. Egypt and Hamas denied the allegations.

"The incident underscores the weak Egyptian hold on Sinai and the broadening of the activities of terrorists," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement. "The real source of the terror is in Gaza and we will act against them with full force and determination."

The attacks, which came close together in time and location, appeared coordinated, and represented one of the boldest strikes in years against Israel.

Security in Sinai has deteriorated sharply since February, when longtime leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising. Many Israelis saw Mubarak as a source of stability with shared interests in containing Iran and its radical Islamic proxies in the region, such as Hamas. Mubarak also upheld the decades-old peace treaty with Israel.

Last week, Egypt moved thousands of troops into the Sinai peninsula as part of a major operation against al-Qaida inspired militants who have been increasingly active in Sinai since Mubarak's ouster in February. The militants have taken advantage of the security vacuum caused by the abrupt withdrawal of police forces. Authorities have blamed the militants for brazen attacks on police patrols as well as a string of bombings on a key pipeline carrying natural gas to Israel and Jordan.

The attacks began around midday, when assailants targeted a packed passenger bus driving along a highway about 10 miles north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, close to the border crossing into Sinai. Within the space of about an hour, the attackers opened fire on two more buses and two civilian cars, and an army patrol drove over an explosive device after rushing to the area, the military said.

Around the same time, an undisclosed number of mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli soldiers conducting routine maintenance work on the security fence along the Israel-Egypt border.

Israel Radio said a vehicle had followed the bus, and two to three gunmen got out and opened fire with automatic weapons.

The vehicle carrying the assailants fled the scene, and Israeli security forces took off in pursuit, Israel Radio said. Channel 2 reported that two helicopters had been deployed to join the chase.

TV footage showed the bus pulled over by a red, rocky cliff. Windows and a door of the bus were shattered, and soldiers were patrolling the area on foot. Inside the bus, seats were stained with blood and luggage littered the aisle.

"We heard a shot and saw a window explode. I didn't really understand what was happening at first. After another shot there was chaos in the bus and everyone jumped on everyone else," passenger Idan Kaner told Channel 2 TV. He said the attack lasted three or four minutes until the bus was able to drive away.

The bus driver interviewed by Channel 2 did not provide details of the attack but appeared calm, smoking a cigarette in the driver's seat.

After that, an explosive device was detonated under the vehicle of a military patrol called to the scene, and a private car was also attacked. The attackers might have fired mortars and an anti-tank missile at that vehicle, said Mordechai, the military spokesman.

Roadblocks were thrown up in the area and entrances and exits to Eilat were sealed. Senior Israeli security officials convened in an emergency session at the defense ministry in Tel Aviv.

The military said a "large number" of assailants were working in multiple squads, but it gave no specifics.

"We are talking about a terror squad that infiltrated into Israel," said Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich. "This is a combined terrorist attack against Israelis."

The driver of the bus said he had seen Egyptian soldiers open fire, but Mordechai said he was not aware of any Egyptian military involvement.

In Egypt, a senior security official denied that the attackers crossed into Israel from Sinai or that the buses were fired at from inside Egyptian territory.

"The border is heavily guarded," said a Sinai-based official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the attackers came from Gaza.

"This is specific information. This is not an assessment. This is not an estimation. This is very, very precise information that they came out of Gaza. We have no doubt." He would not provide more specific details.

Taher Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, denied the militants' complicity.

"Gaza has nothing to do with these attacks in Eilat," Nunu said.

The attacks by a team of apparently coordinated squads also highlighted the potential for a sharp spike in violence as Palestinians prepare to ask the United Nations to recognize them as an independent state.

Palestinian militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza have fired intermittent barrages of mortar shells into Israel for a decade, even after the Israeli military launched an offensive in the territory in late 2008. But in recent years Israel has not suffered the repeated deadly suicide bombings and shooting attacks of years past. The area of Thursday's attacks has been largely quiet since Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal in 1979.

Palestinian leaders in the West Bank have drawn up plans for rallies in September in hopes of boosting their drive for U.N. recognition — an initiative begun after Palestinians lost faith in peace talks with Israel. Those negotiations have been frozen for most of the past three years and there is no sign the two sides can agree on conditions to resume them

http://m.naplesnews.com/news/2011/aug/18/attackers-egypt-kill-7-inside-israel/

Gaza militants fire rockets into Israel after raids[/size]

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen: "Everything is quite fragile here right now"

One person has been seriously injured and others hurt in the Israeli town of Ashdod by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials say.

The missile was one of 12 fired at southern Israeli towns on Friday.

The attacks came after Israel carried out air strikes in Gaza, targeting those it blamed for an attack on Thursday in which eight Israelis died.

Palestinians say at least seven people were killed in the Israeli raids, including a senior militant leader.

Israeli reports said rockets were fired at Ashkelon, Beersheva, Kiryat Gat and Ashdod on Friday morning.

Most of the missiles landed in open ground, causing no damage or injuries, but one landed in the grounds of a religious seminary, or yeshiva, seriously wounding one person.

Another hit an industrial park on the outskirts of Ashdod, injuring six, Haaretz newspaper reported, while the rocket aimed at Ashkelon was shot down by Israel's new Iron Dome missile defence system.


[size=18]Bus attacked



Palestinian sources told the BBC that four members of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) - which is loyal to Hamas but sometimes operates separately - were killed in the Israeli strikes overnight, including the group's head, Kamal al-Nairab.

PRC military chief Immad Hammad and the son of the owner of the house they were in were also among those killed, Palestinian sources and residents said. Hamas said two children had been killed.

Further air strikes took place in the early hours of Friday morning.

Israel said it carried out the strikes in response to attacks near Eilat on Thursday, when at least eight Israelis were killed by gunmen who opened fire on a bus.

Israeli officials said at least two other vehicles were then hit nearby - one by a rocket and one by an explosive device.

A number of gunmen were killed in an ensuing firefight. An Israeli official said gunfire on either side of the border continued into the evening.

The PRC has denied involvement in the attacks in Israel, Reuters reported.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overnight air strikes had killed those responsible.

"The people who gave the order to murder our people and hid in Gaza are no longer among the living," he said in a televised address.

"If anyone thinks the state of Israel will resign itself to this, they are wrong."

A spokesman for Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said several of those who died in the air strikes had been involved in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television reported that security forces in Gaza had evacuated their headquarters in anticipation of Israeli military action.

In response, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: "The real source of the terror is in Gaza and we will act against them with full force and determination."

Hamas, which governs Gaza, denied responsibility, and said it would retaliate if Israel attacked.

"We will not stand handcuffed and we will spearhead resistance to the occupation," Hamas official Salah Al-Bardaweel was quoted as saying.

The US, the EU and the UN have all condemned the Eilat attacks, while a UN spokesman said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "concerned at the risk of escalation and calls for all to act with restraint".
Desert security

Israeli officials said the men who attacked the vehicles near Eilat came from the Gaza Strip and had entered Israel through Egypt's Sinai desert.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, in Jerusalem, says the desert region has become increasingly lawless since the Egyptian revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, with a rise in al-Qaeda inspired militant activity.

However, given the substantial distance between the Sinai desert and Gaza, it is unclear why Israel is so certain the attackers were Gazans, says our correspondent.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the violence "only underscores our strong concerns about the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula".

"Recent commitments by the Egyptian government to address the security situation in the Sinai are important and we urge the Egyptian government to find a lasting resolution," she said.

Late on Thursday, Egyptian officials said at least two Egyptians were killed near the border in northern Sinai.

Details of the deaths were unclear, though there were reports that gunmen had attacked a police post



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14587101

Retired General: Time to Intervene in the Sinai Peninsula

General (res.) Uzi Dayan, who headed the Israeli National Security between 2003 and 2005, said Thursday in the wake of the combined terror attack in southern Israel that it is time to restore the IDF’s ability to operate in the Sinai Peninsula.

“Just last week I sat down with the chief of staff and discussed the issue of southern Israel,” Dayan told Arutz Sheva. “I won’t disclose the contents of the meeting, but I will say that from a military perspective we need to prepare for a new reality.”

According to Dayan, Israel wants to preserve the peace treaty with Egypt, which forbids the entry of Israeli troops into the Sinai Peninsula and limits the number of Egyptian troops which can be deployed there. On the other hand, Dayan said, Israel must also keep its fundamental right to protect its citizens.

“We do not want to heat up the region but we also do not want this border to become a terror border,” he said. “Therefore it is important to react and go after terrorists. We must ask the Egyptians to have the possibility of intervening militarily in the Sinai if it is required. We should also pressure Egypt from a strategic-political direction and use this attack to warn them to maintain the security in the area and not violate the peace agreement.”

Dayan expressed hope that Thursday’s attack is not a first sign of the deterioration of the security in the area.

“I hope the Egyptians will fulfill their duty, but on the other hand we need to retain the ability to act and intervene in Sinai,” he said. “We will have no problem operating there if need be. As soon as some attacks us, it’s our basic right to protect our citizens.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/146965#.Tk6CdajJaSo

In pictures: Egyptians call for the closing of the Israeli embassy in Cairo



NORTH SINAI, Egypt: Dozens of Egyptian demonstrators today staged a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo over the killing of seven Egyptian soldiers. Other Egyptian soldiers were wounded in clashes between Egyptian military forces and Israeli forces on the Egypt-Israel border.

The protestors called on the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) to close the embassy.

Coordinator of the Egyptian Movement for Lifting the Israeli Siege on Gaza Magdi Ahmed Hussein and Safwat Hegazy, an Islamic preacher, asked SCAF to take immediate action against Israel for the force used in Egyptian territory against Egyptian nationals.

They also asked SCAF to condemn the Israeli siege on Gaza.

The protestors demand that the Israeli ambassador to Cairo be fired, the Israeli embassy be closed, and gas exports to Tel Aviv halt.

“What Israel perpetrated hadn’t happened since the signing of the Camp David Convention,” said Hussein.

“Today’s protest is just the beginning of public escalation until the closing of the Israel embassy,” he added.

“The ruling military Council is calling for self-control but the Egyptians cannot do so,” said Hegazy.

http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=343741&SecID=12

Egypt to call back Egyptian ambassador in Israel

CAIRO: The Egyptian ministerial committee for emergency is responsible for following events in Israeli-Egyptian borders and decided to call back the Egyptian Ambassador from Israel.

The committee issued its first statement; "The Egyptian ambassador will be called back to Egypt until Israeli investigations are completed. Egypt must first receive an official apology about the regrettable rushed statements of Israeli authorities."

"Egypt condemned the recent Eilat attacks. The Israeli reaction of these attacks extended to reach members of Egyptian forces on common borders between Israel and Egypt and resulted in the death of three soldiers and injuries another four."

Egypt also denounced the rushed and irresponsible statements of Israeli authorities.

The committee’s second statement was issued two hours after the first. The committee decided to meet the Israeli Ambassador in Cairo to inform him about the second statement.

In the second statement, the committee confirmed its complete refusal of any attempts to blame Egypt for neglect in Israeli security. Egypt also confirmed the security spread in Sinai is not related to the Eilat attacks. It is a procedure against a few criminals.

The committee demands Israel to investigate the shooting of Egyptian soldiers, which is considered a clear break of the Peace Treaty. Egypt put legal and political responsibility on Israel about this accident.

Egypt takes all procedures to support the Israeli-Egyptian borders and supplies more forces in order to prevent any criminals from entering Egyptian land. Egypt will react against any Israeli military action as mentioned in the second statement.

The committee will continue the security campaign in Sinai against any criminals, religious extremist or smugglers. The campaign is supported by all physical and human facilities in order to achieve goals.

The committee recommended forming a cabinet committee for emergency on Monday, in order to approve forming comprehensive development system in Sinai. The new system will supervise development of economical, social and political fields in Sinai and will discuss and solve Sinai habitual problems.

http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=343760

Israel 'regrets' Egyptian soldiers' deaths

Israel's defence minister says Israel "regrets" the deaths of Egyptian security forces killed during a shootout between Israeli soldiers and suspected Palestinian militants.

Ehud Barak says he has ordered a military investigation and a joint inquiry with the Egyptian army to clarify the circumstances of Thursday's incident as Israeli soldiers fired across the Israel-Egypt border.

The investigation was promised Saturday, shortly after Egypt announced it's recalling its ambassador to Israel as an official protest.

The Egyptian cabinet said ambassador Yasser Reda would be withdrawn until Israel concludes its investigation into the deaths. The Egyptian consulate in the West Bank city of Ramallah told the CBC's Derek Stoffel that Egypt is recalling its ambassador, but Reda has not left Israel yet.

The five Egyptian security forces were reportedly caught in a firefight between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.

Israel officials were hunting for gunmen who attacked buses near the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat. The ambush left eight Israelis dead and dozens injured and was blamed on militants who entered Israel through the Sinai peninsula, which borders both Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The diplomatic slap marked the first time in nearly 11 years that Egypt decided to withdraw its ambassador from Israel. The last time was in November 2000 when the Egyptians protested what they called excessive use of violence during the second Palestinian uprising.
Egypt holds Israel 'politically and legally responsible'

A statement released by the Egyptian cabinet said Egypt holds Israel "politically and legally responsible" for the border shootings that followed, adding that what happened was in violation of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

The cabinet statement said Egypt would send reinforcements to protect its borders and "respond to any Israeli military activity at the Egyptian borders."

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence ministry official, said the Israeli military did not intend to harm Egyptian security personnel.

"The question is what happened in the field and that is what is being investigated," he told Israel Radio.

Meanwhile on Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo for a second day, demanding the expulsion of the Israeli envoy. A Palestinian flag was unfurled at the site, and some of the demonstrators threw firecrackers at the building.

Some protesters removed concrete blocks from the entrance of a side street leading to the embassy while others banged on a metal fence with bars, but no violence was reported.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/08/20/egypt-israel.html

Turkey-Egypt talks stoke Israeli fears of political isolation

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is seeking to strengthen strategic ties with Egypt during a meeting in Cairo on Monday. Photograph: Henning Kaiser/EPA

The Turkish prime minister is to visit Cairo on Monday amid concern in Israel that he may seek an alliance between the two countries with the aim of increasing the Jewish state's isolation in the region.

The visit by Recep Tayyip Erdogan – the first by a Turkish leader to Egypt for 15 years – comes against the backdrop of a spiralling diplomatic offensive against Israel by Ankara, which the US is seeking to contain.

A separate crisis between Israel and Egypt after the killing of five Egyptian security officers last month appears to have been averted. But relations between the two neighbours remain delicate, a situation Erdogan may seek to exploit.

Turkey and Egypt are expected to explore areas of co-operation, and Erdogan may offer the post-Mubarak government much-needed financial aid, which would inevitably secure him leverage.

"Turkey may be ready to invest a lot of money and effort into building Egypt as a regional ally," said Alon Liel, a former Israeli envoy to Ankara. "He may try to persuade them to downgrade relations with Israel."

According to Yossi Alpher, an Israeli analyst and co-editor of the BitterLemons website, Erdogan "is flexing Turkey's muscles. He's now trying to project Turkish influence into Egypt. There's concern that he will offer financial aid to Egypt, which needs it desperately, and that will give him a degree of influence. There's concern that Erdogan will hook up with the Egyptian Islamists, who are growing in influence. And there's concern that he will persuade the Egyptians to allow him to visit Gaza, where he will proclaim himself its saviour. None of this is good from Israel's perspective."

In Gaza, the Turkish prime minister would be assured of both a hero's welcome and of incurring Israel's wrath. However, Israel has not so far picked up indications that the Egyptians have agreed to Erdogan crossing their border into Gaza, according to an Israeli government source.

The visit to Cairo follows a series of punitive measures taken by the Turkish government – including expelling the Israeli ambassador, suspending defence trade agreements and threatening to deploy Turkish gunboats to patrol the eastern Mediterranean – in the aftermath of Israel's refusal to apologise for its deadly attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla last May.

A UN report published a week ago concluded that Israel had used "excessive and unreasonable" force in stopping the Mavi Marmara, although it also said its naval blockade of Gaza was legal. Nine Turkish activists were killed on board the ship, for which Turkey demanded an apology and compensation paid to the men's families.

The US, concerned about the breach between the allies, has stepped in to try to contain the crisis. Dan Shapiro, US ambassador to Israel, said: "We are encouraging both countries to find a way to work together to overcome their differences and restore at least some of the friendship that they previously had."

Israel's refusal to apologise for the deaths was in contrast to its swift statement of regret three weeks ago after the fatal shooting of Egyptian security personnel in the aftermath of a militant attack near the Egypt-Israel border in which eight Israelis were killed.

"The mistakes that Israel is making are much more evident in the case of Turkey than in the case of Israel," said Alpher. "Damage control was relatively more forthcoming with the apology to Egypt than in the case of Turkey, where we basically allowed ourselves to walk right into repeated traps that Erdogan has set for us."

The regret expressed to Egypt was not enough to prevent days of vociferous anti-Israel protests in Cairo. To Israel's alarm, the post-Mubarak government made it clear it was listening to the mood on the street.

Israel can ill afford to lose regional allies, especially in the runup to an expected vote in favour of recognising a Palestinian state at the UN this month. Turkey and Egypt are backing the Palestinian bid.

As well as wide political ramifications, a breach with Turkey could have serious economic consequences, Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel, warned this week. Trade between the two countries is worth $3.5bn-$4bn a year. The breach "will affect tourism, trade, culture and sport" as well as diplomatic relations, said Liel.

Israeli government ministers and officials have been issued clear instructions to refrain from comment in an attempt to de-escalate the crisis. However the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that Avigdor Lieberman, the provocative rightwing foreign minister, was considering a series of measures against Turkey in retaliation for Ankara's moves.

According to Alpher, retaliatory steps would exacerbate the crisis. "We have a lot to lose not just economically but also regionally, to the extent that we get drawn deeper into a clash with Turkey," he said. "We were foolish not to apologise [for the Mavi Marmara deaths]. We should still be trying to maintain a low profile and hope friends like the US can try to some extent mend fences here before things get worse."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/turkey-egypt-israel-political-isolation