SINAI, EGYPT (ANS) -- Most Christians living near Egypt's border with Israel are fleeing their homes after Islamist militants made death threats and gunmen attacked a Coptic-owned shop, a priest said on Friday, according to http://en.aswatmasriya.com with reporting by Yousri Mohamed and writing by Tamim Elyan.

Aswat Masriya is a website that deals with the Egyptian scene, including its political, social, cultural and economic aspects.

The website, quoting content from Reuters, says the departure of nine families that made up the small Christian community in the border area of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula will fuel worries about religious tolerance and the rise of militancy after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak last year.

“Coptic Christian families decided to leave ... out of fear for their lives after the threats and the armed attack,” said Mikhail Antwan, priest at the Coptic Margirgis church in the North Sinai town of al-Arish.

Death threats had been printed on flyers circulating in the desert area, Antwan added, according to the website.

Two armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on a Coptic-owned shop in Rafah on Wednesday but no one was injured, the website says.

The site goes on to say that Antwan added two families from the small community had already left while the rest were still packing up their possessions in Rafah and Shaikh Zuwaid after living 20 years in the area.

All were planning to move to al-Arish, the administrative center of North Sinai, where security was better, the priest said.

Islamists with possible links to al Qaeda have gained a foothold in the area, analysts say, according to the website.

The site says Israel has voiced concern about security in Sinai, where at least four cross-border attacks have taken place since Mubarak was toppled in February 2011.

It adds that Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, has vowed to restore order. But efforts to impose central authority are complicated by the indigenous Bedouin population's ingrained hostility to the government in Cairo.

The site also stated that local official, who asked not to be named, confirmed the departures and said the families planned to return when security improved. It was the second wave of Christian departures - another seven families left soon after Mubarak’s fall.

** Michael Ireland is an Internet Journalist who served as Chief Correspondent and Senior International Correspondent for ASSIST News Service ASSIST News Service. between 1998 and 2012. Michael now writes news and feature articles for ASSIST News as a Special Correspondent. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. Michael's writing ministry is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International. Michael frequently attends the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) and Evangelical Press Association (EPA) conventions where he interviews high profile leaders of missions and ministries across the US and around the world. His stated mission for writing is 'Truth through Christian communication.' Please contact Michael for more information. Also, if you have a story idea for Michael, you may write to him at:Writer Mike