Taba hotel area closed to Israelis

The Egyptian revolution and the fatal terror attack in the south of Israel brought down the number of tourists crossing into Sinai, but on Sunday that number dropped to zero.

The Taba Border Crossing on Sunday morning was closed to Israeli citizens. Foreigners and anyone carrying a foreign passport was allowed to cross as usual.

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Israelis wishing to travel in Egypt may do so, but are not allowed to enter the hotel and casino area near the crossing.

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement, saying "due to security considerations and alerts on the intention of terrorist groups to carry out an attack in the south, along the border with Egypt, the entry of Israelis to the Taba hotel district has been restricted," it stated.

Over the weekend, as the Palestinians officially handed the UN a request for full membership, the IDF deployed in force along the border and raised its alert level following concrete information about the intention of Hamas and other terror groups to carry out an imminent attack on the Israel-Egypt border.

The intelligence, which was received by the Shin Bet and transferred to the IDF, indicated of a possible terror attack, similar to the one that was perpetrated last month near Eilat, which left eight Israelis dead.

Since the fatal attack, IDF forces have increased deployment along Highway 10 and 12, which run along the border and remain close to civilian vehicles.

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