IDF says Military Intelligence, Shin Bet collaboration helped thwart
potentially devastating terror attack in southern Israel; adds
intelligence gathering tactics effective
Defense officials told Ynet Monday that the Shin Bet and Military
Intelligence collaboration and intelligence gathering tactics have
proven effective in thwarting a potentially devastating terror attack
Sunday.
A GOC Southern Command inquest into the events of Sunday night
derived that the IDF had intelligence indicating an imminent threat
of terror from the sector, including a Shin Bet alert suggesting that
Sinai terror groups were planning a combined attack against Israeli
and Egyptian forces.
The information prompted increased IDF deployment near some of the
more vulnerable points of the Sinai border, and allowed the military
to prevent the terrorists´ armored vehicle – taken from Egyptian
patrolmen after killing 16 men – and a truck carrying half a ton of
explosives, from reaching their destination – Israel´s Gaza vicinity
communities.
The area along which the terror attack took place – from the Rafah
crossing up to Gate 380 near the Kerem Shalom crossing – was
considered "intelligence assets poor" until about six months ago.
MI sources said that over the past year several terror cells have
been identified in Sinai, some comprised of young Bedouins who defy
the sheiks and act as hired guns or are motivated by their own
radical views.
Several indicators support the theory that militants forming a
virtual "terror state" in Sinai have been able to outwit Gaza´s
bigger terror groups and carry out massive attacks.
Another angle explored by Israeli intelligence is that Sunday´s
attack marks another direct hit at the heart of Cairo´s new regime.
Defense sources told Ynet that it is likely that Iran or Hezbollah
were not part of this attack.
Still, MI sources added that the number of threats from the sector is
growing, at times exceeding the threats coming from Gaza.
Earlier Monday, Egypt´s Muslim Brotherhood said on its website that
the attack "can be attributed to Mossad" and that it was a ploy meant
to upset Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi´s new regime.
