Explaining Violence in the Sinai Peninsula
Violence in Sinai, coinciding with the military's overthrow of President Morsi, is framed by officials in Egypt, Israel, and the U.S. as endemic lawlessness and terrorism. The reality is more complex.
by Joshua Goodman
A recent surge in violence in North Sinai, coinciding with the military’s overthrow of President Mohammad Morsi and the subsequent violent crackdown on members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, has incited deep alarm among officials in Cairo, Jerusalem, and Washington.
As the violence increases, these officials have increasingly framed the peninsula as a land of endemic lawlessness.
In their attempt to characterize this violence, officials and analysts have tended to lump together manifestations of different types of violence, from kidnapping and human trafficking to drive-by shootings and bombings, into a single, monolithic “insurgency.”
