Unnamed Israeli official claims Israel conducted drone strikes in Sinai with Egypt’s permission: A highly-cited piece by Bloomberg (autoplay video) on Monday carries potentially incendiary remarks by an unnamed senior Israeli official who, in praising the level of cooperation between Egypt and Israel, claimed that Israel “conducted numerous drone attacks on militants in Sinai in recent years with Egypt’s blessing.” The quote is already receiving wide coverage in Israeli press, including Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel, as well as Islamist press highly critical of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, such as Middle East Eye.

The unnamed official’s claim is not the first of its kind; at least as far back as August 2013, there were claims of Israeli drone strikes conducted in Sinai with Egypt’s permission.

It also wouldn’t be the first time that an Israeli official’s comments on improved relations threaten to undermine those very relations — or at the very least, create obstacles to their public consumption. Last February, Israeli energy minister Yuval Steinitz claimed Egypt flooded Hamas tunnels allegedly “because we asked him [El Sisi] to,” prompting Egypt to say it was cancelling a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Saudi media reports relayed by Arutz Sheva. Netanyahu’s office denied he had a scheduled visit to Egypt, and Steinitz later apologized for his comments’ “unintended impression.” His comments reflected “the serious disease of uncontrollable talking” by Israeli officials, according to Israeli commentator Yossi Melman.