AP Photo

It is important to remember that the Sinai is in Egypt’s hands precisely because of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, signed in Washington by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat on March 26, 1979. Now, intelligence information shows that Gaza-based Palestinian Islamists plan to use the Sinai for making further cross-border attacks on Israel. Nevertheless, rather than take Cairo to task for allowing the cross-border incursion in the first place, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President Shimon Peres have apologized for the loss of Egyptian life.