Israeli minister says ‘there will be no Sinai’ if Egypt attacks Israel

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that Egypt would lose the Sinai Peninsula if it attacked Israel.

"What would make Egypt not attack us? The understanding that if they attack us, there will be no Sinai at least," Smotrich said in a video interview from his home.

He added that such a scenario "will not happen again."

There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities on his remarks.

The comments came on the eve of Egypt's commemoration of the 1973 war, which paved the way for the eventual return of the Sinai Peninsula following years of Israeli occupation.

Earlier Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the country's armed forces remained ready to defend Egypt, its resources and national security "at all times and under any circumstances."

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington, DC in March 1979 following the 1978 Camp David Accords, ending the state of war between the two countries and providing for Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.

The treaty has remained the foundation of formal relations between Egypt and Israel for decades.