RAFAH, Egypt — Israeli intelligence services have expanded their activities in the Sinai Peninsula since the Hosni Mubarak regime fell in 2011, and along with it, the Sinai state security apparatus affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Interior. This security apparatus was the only representative of Egyptian sovereignty over Sinai for three decades. State security developed a sour reputation among locals, who knew it only for its notorious practices in the peninsula in its attempts to reduce the influence of religious groups and weapons smugglers.

Israeli interventions in the area came with Israel’s growing concern about the movement of militant religious groups in the Egyptian peninsula, especially in the border areas adjacent to Israel.

Israeli intelligence services often target young smugglers, attempting to pressure them into working as operatives for Israel in the peninsula. A member of the Sawarika tribe, one of the largest tribes in Sinai, spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity about Israel’s attempts to recruit him as an operative.

“In February 2011, during my prison sentence in Israel’s Ohlikdar prison, we were surprised by the state of alertness of Israel’s Mossad and Shabak [Israel’s internal security force, also known as Shin Bet]. We Egyptian prisoners were subject to intense investigation for two months, solitary confinement, punishment and psychological pressure.”