Egypt's Armed Forces have placed Dayan’s Rock under tight security, using armored vehicles and earth mounds to protect the rock , in anticipation of a rally Wednesday when activists said they planned to paint it with the colors of the Egyptian flag.
Israel established the memorial in Sheikh Zowayed city during its occupation of Sinai at the same place where an Israeli helicopter crashed. Names of the killed were written on the rock, which was sculptured in the form of the Palestinian map.
The memorial was named after former Israeli minister Mohse Dayan, who ordered it to be built.
Eyewitnesses said unprecedented security procedures were taken, and that vehicles were prevented from passing in front of it.
A security source said the procedures are “normal for protecting the memorial.”
A group called Sinai Revolutionaries Movement had called for people to go to the rock and paint it with the colors of the Egyptian flag to celebrate the liberation of the Sinai peninsula, marked by a holiday on April 25.
It announced that a gathering would take place Wednesday at Refai Square before heading to Sheikh Zowayed.
Meanwhile, North Sinai Governor Major General Al-Sayed Abdel Wahab said the situation in Sinai had calmed after Egypt decided to terminate the gas supply to Israel.
“I don’t think we need to increase tension there, as we all know that the decision was a shock for Israel,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
