A huge increase in the number of police vehicles patrolling the roads in Sinai is indicative of the heightened levels of security in the area.
Security sources, speaking anonymously, said the extra patrols are searching for two trucks allegedly used in the recent attacks on Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan.
The attack left one Jordanian dead and three others injured. Police sources in both countries have claimed the attack was launched from Sinai, while Egypt claims it was more likely to have come from militants in Gaza. According to Egyptian officials, Sinai’s mountainous terrain would make it difficult to launch such an attack.
Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper, has said that Hamas was given instructions by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps to launch an attack from Egyptian territory in order to embarrass Egypt which is playing a major role in trying to mediate between the Palestinians and Israelis and advocating for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue.
The paper quoted Israeli security sources as saying that Hamas has used Egyptian territory in order to shift responsibility for the attack and blame it on radical Egyptian cells.
The Israeli cabinet has issued a statement accusing Hamas of launching the attack and warning that such hostile tactics could push Israel to adopt military measures against Gaza in order to protect Israelis.
Senior Israeli political sources said that Iran is behind the incident, believing that such an attack would have the effect of putting a strain on relations between Egypt and Jordan on the one hand, and Israel and Egypt on the other.
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing has remained opened, according to an official source at the border.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
