Sinai, once a paradise of dunes and palm trees, has become a land of terrorism and lawlessness: a fact underscored by last weekend's ambush by aterror group in the North Sinai city of Al Arish, which killed 15 army and police officers.
For years, salafi organisations have existed in Sinai, predating the birth of Ansar Bait Al Maqdis, a jihadist group that sprang into life after the 2011 revolution.
Ansar Bait Al Maqdis pronounced its allegiance to ISIL in 2014 and became the first branch outside Iraq and Syria. Later the group changed its name to Al Wilayat Sinai.
Al Wilayat Sinai has since spread its activities to the Egyptian capital and claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks.
While the Egyptian army is concentrating its efforts elsewhere, Al Wilayat Sinai has had relative freedom in the Sinai peninsula and has mobilised chunks of the local population.
North Sinai's population is not historically fond of the central government in Cairo and harbours strong feelings of jealousy.
This lack of trust and harmony has left the Sinai population as easy prey for terror groups such as ISIL, especially as extremism flourishes in chaos and poverty.
Militant extremist groups in Sinai expanded rapidly during the short and disastrous term of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi.
He directed around 2,500 jihadists released from Egyptian prisons in 2013 to make Sinai their home. He allowed them freedom of movement and prevented army and security control on them.
In the Morsi era, North Sinai became a near principality where radical organisations and groups enjoyed open displays of force.
Two further factors contributed to the widespread sense of lawlessness and chaos: the flow of asylum seekers from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia who used North Sinai as a conduit where traffickers from the Sawarka tribe provided safe passage across the desert and into Israel.
The Sawarka, which is considered the biggest of the 26 original tribes in the area, is engaged in smuggling of weapons and ammunition to Hamas in Gaza.
The downing of the Russian commercial plane last November is believed to have been carried out by Abu Usama Al Masri of the so-called Wilayat Sinai.
The plane attack brought an end to the tourist season in Egypt and stripped the ailing treasury of tourist revenue.
Following this incident, the Egyptian government provided joint army and security protection for Sharm El Sheikh resorts and the highways of North Sinai. Lately, Cairo has entertained a high-level delegation from Hamas and reached agreement to protect the borders in Rafah and prevent the engagement of resistance fighters in Sinai incidents.
Some improvement of relations between Cairo and Hamas comes at a time when rumours were circulating that Hamas was seeking to establish an Islamist Palestinian state in Gaza and North Sinai. This certainly fits with Israel's designs for Gaza, although it should be noted that the rumours appeared to have started in Israeli circles.
Because of the danger that North Sinai poses to the integrity of Egypt and the region in general, Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his government are fully aware of the danger ISIL could constitute.
Saudi Arabia is conscious of the common threat and has discussed the situation with the Egyptian government and offered cash and assistance to help development and improve conditions in North Sinai.
This gesture could be key and may yet improve living conditions for Bedouins and tribes, who traditionally lived on hand-outs. It may also represent the best chance of delivering real change in North Sinai.
Maha Samara is a journalist in Beirut
