Dozens of terrorists linked to Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups have entered the Sinai Peninsula from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with the intention of clashing with the Egyptian army, according to a senior Egyptian official.

The official told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that Egyptian authorities have observed the entry of 150 Izz al-Din al-Qassam operatives into Sinai via the tunnels. “They were wearing uniforms associated with the military police before joining Jihadists in Sinai,” he said.

The official added that the army suspects that Palestinians took part in assaults on army posts last Friday.

In addition, Egyptian security sources told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that Muslim Brotherhood officials are overseeing terrorist activity against army and police forces in Sinai and coordinating these efforts with commanders in Hamas’ military wing.

The infiltrations come in the aftermath of the Egyptian military ousting the country’s Brotherhood-linked former President Mohammed Morsi, which in turn occurred after anti-government Egyptian activists poured into the streets in the largest national protests in the history of humanity.

On Sunday, the Egyptian army arrested 14 jihadists in the increasingly unstable territory who were reportedly planning to carry out attacks against Egyptian troops.

According to Egyptian army sources, among those arrested there is one Palestinian, who allegedly confessed that he intended to cooperate with other jihadist militants in Sinai in order to assassinate Egyptian army soldiers.

The deepening crisis comes amid news that Islamist terrorists are seeking to target Arab-Israelis vacationing in the Sinai in order to damage Egypt’s tourism industry. Tourism is arguably Egypt’s key cash industry, and has largely collapsed in the aftermath of the chaos sown by the 2011 Egyptian revolution and subsequent electoral empowerment of the Brotherhood.

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