Israeli's death in Sinai believed 'not terror-related'

Woman, 70, discovered in hut on beach; Foreign Ministry under assumption she died from a fall.

By HERB KEINON
sinai huts beach 224 88 (photo credit: Elana Kirsh)
sinai huts beach 224 88
(photo credit: Elana Kirsh)
A 70-year-old Israeli woman found dead Wednesday in her hotel room in Nuweiba in the Sinai was killed by a fall in her room, and not by an act of violence, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday. According to the spokesman, an autopsy on the body had been preformed in Egypt, and the body will most likely be returned to Israel on Thursday. The name of the woman has not been released for publication. Initial reports of the woman's death triggered concern that she may have been the victim of violence, amid heightened warnings of possible terrorist attacks against Israelis in Sinai. Last week Israelis were once again urged by the National Security Council's Counter Terrorism Bureau to avoid the Sinai in the coming months because of warnings that terrorists planned to use the area to attack Israeli tourists. Defense officials emphasized that the warning was more severe than those issued in the past during the Rosh Hashana season. The Counter Terrorism Bureau met on Wednesday and discussed the situation in Egypt, but did not upgrade the warning nor call on the government to enact emergency regulations to prevent Israelis from traveling to Sinai, a suggestion that has been raised in the past because of the numbers of Israelis who disregard the travel warning and continue to go to Sinai. Last week's travel advisory followed revelations, confirmed Wednesday by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, that two attempts by Hizbullah to kidnap five Israeli businessmen overseas were recently foiled by Israeli security services. The plots were in the advanced stages, and defense officials said that Hizbullah would continue its attempts to retaliate for February's assassination of Hizbullah military commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, which the group has accused Israel of carrying out.