Jabal al-Halāl (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

:جبل الحلال) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the

North Sinai Governorate North Sinai Governorate ( ar, محافظة شمال سيناء ') is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north-eastern part of the country, and encompasses the northern half of the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered in the north b ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. At 910 meters above sea level, it is the highest mountain of the Khashm ar-Rih range.

History

The mountain is located 60km south of

al-Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...

. It was named "Halal" because of the camels and sheep that used to graze around the mountain. The residents of the mountain are the Tarabin and Tiyaha tribes. The mountain has long been a refuge of smugglers and bandits and has been described as 'controlled by

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

outlaws'. According to Ibrahim Hammad, the Bedouin chief of

Bir al-Abed Bir al-Abed ( ar, بئر العبد, biʾr al-ʿabd; arz, بير العبد) is one of the cities of North Sinai in the north east of Egypt. It is the capital of Bir al-Abd Markaz, located on the international coastal road on the shores of Lake ...

, "This mountain is like a ghost area. It hasn't been attacked by outsiders even in the worst security conditions." The area has many

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s. It is thought by some, including

Claude Scudamore Jarvis Major Claude Scudamore Jarvis CMG OBE (20 July 1879 – 8 December 1953) was a British colonial governor. As an Arabist and naturalist, he became noted for his knowledge of the desert Bedouin and for his rapport with them. Life and career The ...

, to be the

biblical Mount Sinai Mount Sinai (, ''Har Sīnay'') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God, according to the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Deuteronomy, these events are described as having transpired at Mount ...

. The perception of the mountain as a notorious hideout for terrorists began in 2004 after the

2004 Sinai bombings The 2004 Sinai bombings were three bomb attacks targeting tourist hotels in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, on 7 October 2004. The attacks left 34 people dead and 171 injured. The bombings The explosions occurred on the night of 7 October, against ...

. Between 2004-5, the

Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces ( arz, القُوّات المُسَلَّحَة المِصْرِيَّة, alquwwat almusalahat almisria) are the military forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They consist of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egypti ...

conducted months-long security operations here. In 2012, the Egyptian Armed Forces launched "Operation Eagle" in another attempt to root out militants hiding on the mountain after the August 2012 Sinai attack. In March/April 2017, the Egyptian Armed Forces conducted a third security operation named 'Torrent 5' in which they claimed to have cleared the mountain of terrorist hideouts.

References

{{reflist Helal Mount Sinai