WASHINGTON — The U.S.-led monitoring force in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been increasingly hampered by an Al Qaida-aligned insurgency threat, a report said.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said that the Multinational Force and Observers were coming under constant attack by Bedouin militias linked to Al Qaida and the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

In a report, the institute said MFO has restricted patrols amid the threat of abduction and other attacks.

“Over time, the MFO’s mission will simply become untenable unless security improves in the Sinai — or unless the rules of engagement are changed, which seems unlikely,” the report, titled “The MFO Under Fire In Sinai,” said.

Dated June 4, the report said MFO has sought to enhance force protection. Author David Schenker said the force has modernized and armored its vehicle fleet to protect against rocket-propelled grenade and other bombings.

“Yet growing abduction fears have led to the cancellation of many patrols, and reconnaissance flights have reportedly been scaled back due to concerns about terrorists or other actors fielding man- portable air-defense systems,” the report said.

In 2012, MFO reported that it underwent nearly 200 attacks from Bedouins and others in central and eastern Sinai. They included an eight-day siege of an MFO camp and the Bedouin abduction of 10 Asian officers.

“Should the situation continue to deteriorate, the MFO might reduce its patrols even further, a la UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force] in Lebanon,” the report said. “Although the force has not suffered fatalities in recent months, donor commitment will erode if troop casualties begin to mount. Over time, the MFO’s mission will simply become untenable unless security improves in the Sinai — or unless the rules of engagement are changed, which seems unlikely.”

MFO, which launched operations in 1982, has employed aircraft to monitor Egypt’s and Israel’s commitment to their peace treaty. The United States was said to contribute nearly 700 out of the 1,656 military personnel, including an infantry battalion task force and logistics unit. In 2005, MFO’s mandate was expanded to include Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.

The report said MFO has been endangered by the absence of Egyptian authority in Sinai since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The security vacuum has spawned Bedouin militias as well as Al Qaida in the Sinai Peninsula and Ansar Al Jihad.

MFO was also under threat by the growing Palestinian militia presence in Sinai. The report cited such groups as the Hamas-aligned Popular Resistance Committee and Army of Islam. “These groups have not yet targeted MFO personnel, but they could do so in the future,” the report said. So far, none of the 12 countries that contribute to MFO has threatened to withdraw from Sinai. The report proposed increased U.S. intervention to ensure effective Egyptian law enforcement and cooperation with neighboring Israel.

“If the violence still does not abate, the partners may also need to redefine the MFO’s rules of engagement to better reflect the increasingly unfriendly environment in which it operates,” the report said. “Absent these changes, the current trajectory could render peacekeeping operations in the Sinai unsustainable — another blow to an already embattled treaty.” (Copyright © 2012 East West Services, Inc. 06/06/12)