Ten United Nations peacekeepers have been kidnapped by Bedouin Arabs in the Sinai Peninsula. The hostages, who were part of a contingent from Fiji, were released after being held for several hours.

The kidnappers had taken their prisoners in order to demand that Egypt release members of their Bedouin tribe who were imprisoned.

The United Nations has not commented on the incident.

Former deputy IDF chief of staff Dan Harel noted last week that the Egyptian government has lost much of the control over the Sinai that it had during the reign of President Hosni Mubarak.

Evidence of the loss of control, said Harel, could be seen in the upswing in weapons smuggling and other items by Bedouin tribes and the growing threat of terrorism emanating from the region.

Al Qaeda and other jihadist terror cells have carried out some 50 terrorist attacks on Egyptian police since the start of the January 25  “Arab Spring” uprising.

Israel has continued to issue alerts warning its citizens not to travel to the popular Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea tourist resorts. Nevertheless, thousands of Israeli backpackers and others still ignore the terrorist threats.