BICOM

According to the Daily Telegraph, Israeli military intelligence is reporting that weapons taken from Colonel Gaddafi’s troops and army stores in Libya have fallen into the hands of jihadists, and have been taken into the Sinai and Gaza. A senior Israeli military official said on Monday that most of the weaponry entering Gaza comes from Iran, through Sudan, but that arms coming from Libya are causing increasing concern. The official also reaffirmed the need for coordination with Egypt to reduce smuggling in the Sinai.

In an attempt to prevent the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula from further deteriorating, the Egyptian government this week set out plans to improve security and seek investment for the area. The Egyptian government is to establish a ‘Supreme Authority for the Development of Sinai’ to this end. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has also reiterated that Israel will work in cooperation with Egypt at the highest levels to help Egypt establish more control over the Sinai. Some in Israel have suggested that this may include amending the Israel-Egypt peace treaty to enable Egypt to deploy more soldiers to the area. Israel attaches extremely high importance to the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and its strategic and diplomatic relationship with Egypt, which it hopes to maintain with the current military leadership in Cairo.  

In related news, Maariv reports that at the weekend, Israeli officials received messages from Egypt that the interim leadership in Cairo would struggle to ignore public anger if Israel intensifies the fighting in Gaza. Reports indicate that the Egyptians hinted that the future of the peace agreement between two countries could be jeopardised if a large-scale operation is launched in Gaza.

For more information on Israel’s policy following the attacks, please go to BICOM Analysis: Israel’s policy following the escalation in the south