Israelis urged to leave Sinai after kidnap threat

Jerusalem, May 9 : Israel warned its citizens to leave Egypt's Sinai resort area immediately, saying there was an threat of kidnapping by militant groups.

A message circulated to media and issued on the Web site of Israel's Prime Minister's Office counter-terrorism unit said the danger was imminent and called on its citizens to cross the border back into Israel without delay.

''The threat of a kidnap of an Israeli citizen on the beaches of Sinai has increased greatly and has become concrete in the past days. The counter-terrorism unit strongly advises all the Israelis in Sinai to leave the area immediately,'' it said.

Last month three almost simultaneous bombs in Dahab on Sinai's east coast killed 18 people, including four foreigners, and injured scores.

The explosions resembled other attacks attributed to a Sinai-based group which has bombed two other resorts on the east coast over the last two years, killing many foreigners including Israeli holidaymakers.

A bombing at a southern Sinai resort killed 64 people last July and a similar attack in 2004 killed 34.

Sinai's east coast is very popular with Israeli tourists.

Israel occupied Sinai in the 1967 Middle East War then handed it back to Egypt under a 1979 peace treaty.

Reuters