Israel not preparing for surprise Egyptian attack scenario ‘which does not exist’

The Israeli army is not preparing for a surprise Egyptian attack, because such a scenario does not exist, the commander of the 80th Military Division has claimed, according to reports by Israeli media on Sunday. The division has responsibility for covering Israel’s border with Egypt.

Brigadier General Itamar Ben Haim made his comment during a conversation with residents in southern Israel early last week, following news circulating in Israel from unofficial sources about the Egyptian army amassing forces and tanks in Sinai in preparation for a surprise attack against the occupation state. Local residents who spoke with the general seemed to fear a repeat of Hamas’s surprise attack on 7 October, but with greater force.

“There is no scenario where the Egyptian army launches an attack in this area. We are not preparing for it because we do not see it as existing in the immediate timeframe,” Haim told his audience. “You should be concerned with the agreement [the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt], because in the end we are doing what we can. The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] needs more forces in Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank], Lebanon, Gaza and Jordan, and ultimately, we are preparing for what we estimate. In my estimation, an attack like the one you are describing here will not happen in the immediate future. The IDF prepares for what we consider reasonable. I do not foresee such an attack in the coming years, and if there is one, we will know how to prepare.”

Last Wednesday, the outgoing IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, stated that Egypt could become a surprise security threat to Israel, given Israeli reports of Egyptian military reinforcements and changes in the deployment of Egyptian forces in Sinai. “We are very concerned about this,” said Halevi. “But this is not at the top of our priorities, we have to say that. We have to give priority to our problems.”

He noted that Egypt has a large army, with advanced weapons, aircraft, submarines, missile ships and a very large number of advanced tanks and ground forces. “The current situation, though, does not pose a direct threat, but it could change quickly.” The Egyptian army, he added, could find itself under different leadership “overnight”.

The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, sparked anger in Egypt a month ago when he claimed that Egypt is violating the peace treaty and building military bases to launch attacks. “There are bases being built, and they can only be used for offensive operations and offensive weapons,” he said. “This is a clear violation. For a long time, this issue has been shoved to the side, but it continues. This is an issue that we are going to put on the table, very soon and very emphatically.”

Leiter’s allegations come even though Israel is violating the peace treaty by keeping its forces in the Philadelphi axis contrary to its terms. Israel erased the video clip documenting Leiter’s statements from the internet, but the foreign ministry in the occupation state did not deny his statement, which angered Egypt.

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