The shock waves that followed the Islamic State's (IS) horrific massacre of worshippers in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Nov. 24 were not limited to Egypt and Sinai. The attack became the talk of the day in Israel as well, particularly among the country's defense establishment. It has been using every resource at its disposal to keep tabs on events in Egypt as they unfold and is, according to foreign news sources, involved up to its neck in the fighting in the "Sinai District" with IS in the peninsula, which has left Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi teetering.

The Israeli leadership is very concerned about the deteriorating situation in Egypt, which could have direct implications on the stability of Israel's entire southern front. According to foreign sources, Israel's ability to collect intelligence has already helped Egyptian troops that are fighting in the terrorist bastions in Sinai to prevent other major attacks. Last Friday, however, it appears as if Israel and the Egyptian army and intelligence all came up short.

Another issue in which Israel is involved over its head is the recently announced historic reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions. Despite earlier assessments, it is proceeding according to plan, even though it is still far from being declared a success. Outwardly, Israel responded with skeptical hostility to the news of this reconciliation between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. It immediately announced that it would not conduct any negotiations with any Palestinian government "that relies on Hamas." In effect, it was creating a diplomatic alibi that it could use to block any efforts to renew diplomatic negotiations between it and the Palestinians.

At the same time, however, behind the scenes, Israel informed Egypt and the Americans that it would assess the reconciliation initiative on the basis of its performance and developments on the ground. The interpretation of this statement is fairly straightforward: Israel has been following what happened with great interest and will make decisions based on how the situation on the ground unfolds. No possibility is excluded, including reconciliation. While Israel openly snubbed this possibility and has given it the cold shoulder, at the same time, it also opened a watchful eye and developed its own back channel to these negotiations.