Brendan Smialowski, AFP / Getty Images
There is “the potential of jihadists and terrorists taking up an operational base in Sinai,” said Hillary Clinton, on Monday, of the desert between Israel and Egypt. There have been growing concerns from the Israeli side about the region’s safety since the Arab Spring. On Monday, two American tourists and their guide were released after being held hostage in Sinai for three days—their tour bus had been reportedly ambushed as it headed for Israel. “We think it’s a dangerous situation for both Egypt and Israel,” the U.S. secretary of state told CNN. “It is also dangerous for Americans. We have Americans who are part of the multinational force that observes the continuation of the monitoring [of the] Camp David Accord. We have Americans in the Sinai. We’ve had a few concerns about their safety.” Israeli officials have also said recently that Egypt needs to tackle terror cells in the region.