WarSclerotic

BBC News – Eilat airport: Israeli military orders shutdown.

The Israeli military has ordered the closure of airspace around Eilat airport, meaning the airport is closed to departures and arrivals.

The military said “security assessments” based on “intelligence and other regional developments” had prompted the move.

The closure would remain in force until further notice, a spokesman said.

Eilat has been targeted in the past by rockets fired by Islamist militants in the neighbouring Sinai peninsula.

Sinai has become increasingly lawless amid the instability generated by the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in early July.

However, there is no suggestion that this closure is the result of an immediate threat to attack the airport.

Eilat airport is a major Red Sea tourist destination.

On Thursday, the Israel Aviation Authority said eight flights scheduled to land at the city would be diverted to another airport, Uvda, some 60km (36 miles) away, reported Reuters news agency.

Eilat sits on the border with Sinai and is an obvious target for militants organising there, reports the BBC’s Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly.

Rocket fire prompted the closure of Eilat airport most recently in April. In July, remnants from a rocket fired from Sinai were found in the hills north of the city.

The Israeli government is completing a fence that runs the entire length of the border, has stepped up military patrols and has in the past deployed batteries of its Iron Dome anti-missile system in the area, our correspondent says.

But the closure of the airport indicates it still sees a threat from the Sinai desert, he adds.

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