Egypt prevents vandalism of IDF memorial in Sinai
Military forces stop members of Sinai Revolutionaries Movement who planned to paint over monument
Egyptian security forces prevented Islamists from vandalizing an IDF memorial in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday - the day Egypt celebrates Sinai's liberation.
According the to al-Youm al-Sabaa online publication, members of the Sinai Revolutionaries Movement were stopped in their vehicles en route to the memorial. They were planning to paint the colors of the Egyptian flag over the monument which commemorates 10 Israeli soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash when the Sinai was still under Israeli control.
IDF monument in Sinai
Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that Egyptian military forces beefed up security around the site in anticipation of attempts to vandalize the memorial.
According to various reports, army forces and armored vehicles were deployed around the memorial in order to prevent members of the Sinai Revolutionaries Movement from painting over it, as they have pledged to do.
Simulation of painted memorial
The troops also placed barbed-wire fences around the site, and warned the public against approaching the memorial and violating the 1979 Peace Treaty. Egypt pledged to guard the memorial as part of the treaty.
A security source described the measures taken as "routine" while the North Sinai governor stressed the Sinai region was calm.
On Tuesday, the Sinai Revolutionaries Movement called locals to take part in a march from el-Arish to the memorial and paint over it with the colors of the Egyptian flag and erase the names of the Israeli soldiers.
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