Gaza based terrorism (Background Info): Secret Alliance:- Israel Carries Out Airstrikes in Egypt, With Cairo’s O.K.
A turning point: In 2015, Islamist militants brought down a Russian passenger jet in Sinai. Soon after,
Israel began a wave of airstrikes there Credit Maxim Grigoryev/Agence France-Press e — Getty Images
The jihadists in Egypt’s Northern Sinai had killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, briefly seized a major town and begun setting up armed checkpoints to claim territory. In late 2015, they brought down a Russian passenger jet
Egypt appeared unable to stop them, so Israel, alarmed at the threat just over the border, took action.
For more than two years, unmarked Israeli drones, helicopters and jets have carried out a covert air campaign, conducting more than 100 airstrikes inside Egypt, frequently more than once a week — and all with the approval of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Tags
Who is online
77 visitors
The remarkable cooperation marks a new stage in the evolution of their singularly fraught relationship. Once enemies in three wars, then antagonists in an uneasy peace, Egypt and Israel are now secret allies in a covert war against a common foe.
Their collaboration in the North Sinai is the most dramatic evidence yet of a quiet reconfiguration of the politics of the region. Shared enemies like ISIS, Iran and political Islam have quietly brought the leaders of several Arab states into growing alignment with Israel — even as their officials and news media continue to vilify the Jewish state in public .
We often hear about the efforts of the major powers in the battle against against ISIS, but often the efforts of other major players such as Egypt and Israel often go unnoticed. (And that's also true of one of the most effective opponents of ISIS, the incredible Kurds).
And Egypt and Israel are cooperating in the fight against Gaza based terrorists in other ways as well:
Behind the scenes, Egypt’s top generals have grown steadily closer to their Israeli counterparts since the signing of the Camp David accords 40 years ago, in 1978. Egyptian security forces have helped Israel enforce restrictions on the flow of goods in and out of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory bordering Egypt controlled by the militant group Hamas. And Egyptian and Israeli intelligence agencies have long shared information about militants on both sides of the border.