WASHINGTON — Islamic insurgents have deployed surface-to-air missiles in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for attacks on Israel, a report said.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said Hamas has joined with Bedouin insurgents to establish Sinai as a venue for SAM attacks on Israeli civilian and military aircraft. In a report, the institute said the insurgency network was believed to have acquired a range of Russian- origin air defense systems.

“This flow of arms, which includes advanced Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 missiles capable of reaching the outskirts of Tel Aviv, has been supplemented by equipment smuggled from Libya, such as the fairly advanced Russian-made SA-14, SA-16, and SA-18 anti-aircraft missiles, which could pose a threat to Israeli aircraft and the Eilat airport,” the report, titled “Sinai: A New Front,” said.

Israel has acknowledged the growing SAM threat from Sinai. The Israeli military and government have been pressing civilian airlines that land in Eilat and the nearby Uvda airport to equip their aircraft with counter-measures systems to locate and deflect incoming missiles.

In August 2011, the first SAM attacks were reported on Israel from Sinai. The report said several shoulder-fired missiles were fired by insurgents toward Israeli helicopters as Palestinian and Bedouin fighters attacked civilian buses near Eilat on Aug. 18, in which nine Israelis were killed.

“It was also the first time that shoulder anti-aircraft missiles were fired from the Sinai against Israeli helicopters,” the report said. “The attack itself was the most elaborate to ever come from the Sinai, employing new ambush tactics and advanced improvised explosive devices.”

The report said the SAMs and other weapons smuggled to the Sinai come from such countries as Iran, Libya, Sudan and the Balkans. The Bedouins and their Palestinian partners were also said to have received third- generation Russian-origin anti-tank guided missiles, which could be fired from Sinai into Eilat.

At this point, Egypt has done little to stop the SAM network or weapons smuggling into Sinai. The report said the Egyptian Army, despite the deployment of thousands, was restricting operations to main roads and cities in the peninsula.

“Smuggling to Gaza has been allowed to proceed without interruption,” the report said. “The weekly closures of two or three tunnels have not impaired the scope of illegal trade. This strategy is in line with the longstanding refusal among the highest military echelons to allow army involvement in any confrontation with the indigenous population.” (Copyright © 2012 East West Services, Inc. 02/17/12)