Deutsche Welle quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Zack Gold on Egypt’s response to the downing of a Russian plane in Sinai and the Sinai-based militant group that has claimed responsibility:
“Regardless of whether Wilayat Sinai was behind [the downing of the Russian plane], there has been an increased challenge for the Egyptian government in that Sinai militancy has been infiltrated by an increasing number of non-Sinai fighters that do not have the same ties to the local population and therefore are less limited in their actions because of the impact those actions may have on locals,” Zack Gold, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, told DW.
“This is clear in the change in militancy toward the local population and in increased harassment of and attacks against the [international peacekeeping force overseeing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel]. Of course, the downing of a plane of tourists…would exponentially emphasize that change,” he said.