Israel warned on Wednesday that the threat of a terror attack against Israelis in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula was becoming increasingly concrete.

"We have no doubt... the threat is now becoming very, very concrete," Elkana Har Nof, the deputy head of the government's anti-terror unit, told Israel Radio.

The involvement of Egyptians, particularly Sinai Bedouin, in terrorism may be "the most troubling phenomena that has taken place in the past year," he said.

"There are Egyptians who have become, in large part, a sort of World Jihad group - that is, based on religious extremism - who manage to recruit people from Egypt, including Bedouin," he said. "Some of them, whether out of faith or love of money, have become.. . activists of a sort of domestic World Jihad."

The other two groups are Islamic fundamentalists who come from abroad - "what's called Al-Qaida or classic World Jihad" - and Palestinians who operate in Egypt, he said, adding that Egyptians involved in terror are one of three groups that could pose a danger to Israelis.

The anti-terror unit warned Israelis at the beginning of the month not to travel to Sinai due to the terror threat, leading thousands of Israelis to cancel plans to visit the area during the holidays.

Source: Xinhua