The Egyptian military has bolstered its forces in the Sinai Peninsula and is set to launch an offensive to root out militant factions operating in the region, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Tuesday. "The situation in Sinai is deteriorating. We receive daily reports on clashes between radical Islamist terrorist elements and Egyptian security forces and the fear is, of course, that the barrels will be pointed in our direction," Ya'alon said during a visit to the IDF's 80th Edom Division, headquartered in the mountains of the Red Sea port of Eilat. Unidentified gunmen Tuesday shot dead an Egyptian police officer in Sinai as he walked home, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported, while Egyptian troops exchanged fire with militants in El-Arish overnight. Ya'alon said that he had approved the Egyptian military's requests to move additional forces into the Sinai, including armor and gunships. "We are seeing more effective and offensive-oriented activity by the Egyptian army and security forces (in Sinai) in recent months, particularly in the weeks after the regime change... They have bolstered their forces and are preparing for offensive action, " Ya'alon said, expressing hope that Egypt's defense establishment "will overcome the challenge posed by radical Islam in Sinai." The defense minister on Tuesday toured segments of a high-tech fence that Israel built along its 240 km-long border with Egypt, which stretches from Eilat to the southern end of the Gaza Strip. He met with soldiers operating an Iron Dome missile defense battery that was positioned last week in the mountains above Eilat, after two rockets fired from Sinai toward the city landed in its vicinity earlier this month. "Indeed, we have reinforced the deployment along the border and positioned Iron Dome in Eilat in case someone dares shoot at the city, in order to protect its residents and provide them with normal, quiet lives as much as possible," said Ya'alon. Xinhua
