ISRAEL: Counter-terrorism bureau urges Israelis to leave Sinai

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‘All Israelis are called adamantly to leave Sinai immediately and without delay.’ That was the urgent message issued by Israel’s counter-terrorism bureau Tuesday evening, warning of an immediate threat to Israelis in Egypt, especially in the Sinai peninsula. The message appeared on screens at the Taba crossing between Israel and Egypt and sounded on loudspeakers at the border terminal.

The bureau, part of the prime minister’s National Security Council, said that it issued the warning because of increased threats of killing or kidnapping of Israelis in the region.

Earlier in the evening, there had been rumors of an Israeli kidnapped in Sinai, though Israeli counter-terrorism officials could not confirm them.

Travel advisories are often sharpened around Passover, when many Israelis vacation.

During the recent holiday, a counter-terrorism official took part in a radio discussion with an Israeli woman vacationing in the Sinai who said she felt quite safe there. He told her that government warnings ‘aren’t based on stomachaches, but on concrete intelligence.’

The Sinai is teeming with terrorist groups--more than 20, writes defense analyst Ron Ben-Yishai on the Ynet website.

-- Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem