Co-Founder of Egyptian Salafist party met with Tzipi Livni
The co-founder of the Egyptian Salafist party, a group of extremist Muslims,
met with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at Harvard in April according to a report in Egyptian media (Hat Tip:
MFS - The Other News).
Alwaght- Egyptians were shocked when the Arabic
language newspaper, Youm7, revealed that the co-founder of Egypt’s
Salafist Nour Party has met with the Israeli Regime's former foreign
minister.
The influential daily revealed on the weekend that
extremist Nour Party's Nader Bakkar has hold secret meeting with
notorious Tzipi Livni in April at Harvard University.
The meeting that was reportedly held at Bakkar’s request has sparked a storm of controversy in Egyptian media.
...
Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni
Islam that advocats a return to the traditions of the "devout
ancestors". The doctrine can be summed up as taking "a fundamentalist
approach to Islam".
The Nour Party's co-founder and deputy chairman, Bakkar,
Bakkar was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s in public
administration at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Muslim Brotherhood accused the aspiring young politician of
unjustly winning a fellowship to attend the prestigious Harvard
University in return for his party’s betrayal of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The Salafi party sided with the Armed Forces against the
Brotherhood during Morsi’s ouster, and since then has continued to
support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration.
...
A few months before his graduation, however, Livni visited
Harvard on 16 April to give a lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Sources reportedly told the Egyptian newspaper that after
finding out that Livni was coming to speak, Bakkar contacted the society
to arrange a closed meeting with Livni.
She agreed and the meeting took
place inside the university after her lecture.
According to Youm7, Nader Bakkar’s meeting with Tzipi
Livini lasted around 40 minutes, in which Bakkar talked about the
strength of the Nour Party and its popularity, that he was the main
reason for the (Muslim) Brotherhood’s success after the 25 January
revolution…
Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with
Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to
entrap them- did not reveal the meeting at the time, but sources close
to her confirmed to the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that the
meeting took place.
You gotta love Alwaght's style "Israeli Regime" and "Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with
Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to
entrap them..." as if they were totally defenseless against her, even if you assume it's true (For many reasons, I don't believe Livni did this, and I won't allow comments discussing it).
And you thought Livni hated religious people... oh... wait... it's only
religious Jews she hates.
But yes, I do believe Livni met with Bakkar. I doubt anything came of it. Much ado about nothing.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Egyptian regime change, Egyptian Revolution, Harvard University, Mohammed Morsy, Mossad, Salafists, Tzipi Livni
NINE YEARS since last visit by an Egyptian foreign minister
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukhry is in Israel this afternoon to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss - what else - how to advance the 'peace process' with the 'Palestinians.' It is the first visit to Israel by an Egyptian Foreign Minister in
NINE YEARS.
Netanyahu said he would meet with Shoukry twice on Sunday, once in the afternoon and again in the evening. Netanyahu's special envoy Isaac Molho is responsible with coordinating Shoukry's visit, the premier said.
"The visit today is important in many ways," Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. "It shows the change in relations between Israel and Egypt, including Sissi's important call to advance the peace process [both] with the Palestinians and with Arab states.
Two weeks ago Shoukry met Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah.
For the record, the last time an Egyptian President visited Israel was when Hosni Mubarak came to Yitzchak Rabin's funeral... in 1995.
None of this is surprising. Here's how the
average Egyptian thinks of peace with Israel. I took it from the Egyptain blog, Sandmonkey.
But
then I rememebrd that we- the majority of us anyway- don't want peace
with Israel, and are not interested in any real dialogue with them. We
weren't then and we are not now. The Entire peace process has always
been about getting the land back, not establishing better relations.
Even when we do get the land back, it's not enough. People in Egypt
lament daily the Camp David treaty that prevents us from fighting.
In
Gaza they never stopped trying to attack Israel. In Lebanon Hezbollah
continued attacking even after the Israeli withdrawel. And the people-
the majority of the arab population- support it. Very few of us are
really interested in having any lasting Peace or co-existance. I mean,
if our left is asking for war, what do you think the rest of the
population is thinking?
I think that the Israeli want peace with
us because they don't want their lives disrupted. They don't want to
have the IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza, rockets coming into their towns
from Hamas or having to go to wars against Hezbollah to get their
soldiers back. I think they want peace because they want their peace of
mind. They view us as if we were a headache. We view them as if they
are a cancer.
All of which leads the average Israeli to conclude that peace with the Arabs isn't really worth the price in land that we'd have to pay - there won't be real peace.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Hosni Mubarak, Middle East peace process, Sandmonkey
#ThanksObama... for making America's former allies into our allies
It's not just Israel that doesn't trust Barack Hussein Obama. And in one of the best examples of countries having interests rather than friends, a group of previously irreconcilable American allies has
joined together look out for their own interests in the waning days of the Age of Obama. Bret Stephens reports.
I’ve spent the better part of a week talking to senior officials,
journalists, intellectuals and politicians from across Israel’s
political spectrum. None of it was on the record, but the consistent
theme is that, while the Jewish state still needs the U.S., especially
in the form of military aid, it also needs to diversify its strategic
partnerships. This may yet turn out to be the historic achievement of Benjamin Netanyahu’s long reign as prime minister.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon publicly shook hands with former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal at the Munich Security Conference. In January, Israeli cabinet member Yuval Steinitz
made a trip to Abu Dhabi, where Israel is opening an office at a
renewable-energy association. Turkey is patching up ties with Israel. In
June, Jerusalem and Riyadh went public with the strategic talks between
them. In March, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi told the Washington Post that he speaks to Mr. Netanyahu “a lot.”
This
de facto Sunni-Jewish alliance amounts to what might be called the
coalition of the disenchanted; states that have lost faith in America’s
promises. Israel is also reinventing its ties to the aspiring Startup
Nations, countries that want to develop their own innovation cultures.
In October, Israel hosted Indian President Pranab Mukherjee
for a three-day state visit; New Delhi, once a paragon of the
nonaligned movement that didn’t have diplomatic ties to Israel for four
decades, is about to spend $3 billion on Israeli arms. Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, who is personally close to Mr. Netanyahu, sees
Israel as a model for economic reinvention. Chinese investment in Israel
hit $2.7 billion last year, up from $70 million in 2010. In 2014,
Israel’s exports to the Far East for the first time exceeded those to
the U.S.
Then there is Europe—at least the part of it that is
starting to grasp that it can’t purchase its security in the coin of
Israeli insecurity. Greece’s left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
used to lead anti-Israel protests. But Greece needs Israeli gas, so he
urges cooperation on terrorism and calls Jerusalem Israel’s “historic
capital.” In the U.K., Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is moving to prevent local councils from passing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) measures against Israel.
All
this amounts to another Obama administration prediction proved wrong.
“You see for Israel there’s an increasing delegitimization campaign that
has been building up,” Mr. Kerry warned grimly in 2014. “There are
talks of boycotts and other kinds of things. Today’s status quo
absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100%, cannot be maintained.”
Except when the likely alternatives to the lousy status quo are worse.
Maybe we need to say #ThanksObama after all. Just not the way he expected. Heh.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, China, David Cameron, Greece, India, Japan, Moshe Yaalon, Turki al-Faisal
It's come to this: Egypt asks Israel to keep Turkey away from Gaza
Egypt is worried - really worried - about the prospect that Turkey will have a role to play in Gaza, and with 'reconciliation talks' between Israel and Turkey ostensibly taking place, the Egyptians have asked Israel to ensure that
Turkey will stay away.
Senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz that Egypt expressed its reservations regarding granting Turkey a role in the Gaza Strip, and asked whether Israel had committed to any easing of restrictions in the closure imposed on Gaza.
These officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the delicate diplomatic nature of the issue, stated that what caused the Egyptian government’s displeasure was Israeli media reports from a few weeks ago, according to which a breakthrough had been reached in reconciliation talks with Turkey, as well as reports in the Turkish media that Israel had agreed to take significant steps in easing the maritime siege on Gaza.
Senior Egyptian Foreign Ministry officials met with Israel’s ambassador Haim Koren and asked if these reports were correct and whether Israel and Turkey are indeed close to reconciling. The temporary chargé d’affaires at the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv delivered similar messages in a recent meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem. Egypt expressed its opposition to any Israeli concessions to Turkey with regard to the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has two concerns: Turkey's support for Mohammed Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt, and Turkey's close relations with Hamas.
Last week, Erdogan said that as part of the negotiations with Israel over the agreement, Turkey is interested in sending a ship that would arrive directly in Gaza, providing electricity and delivering construction materials. He noted that Israel has told Turkey that it would lift the siege if aid to Gaza goes through Turkey.
Last week, the Turkish Hürriyet Daily News reported that Turkey demanded that Israel grants it “unlimited access” in providing aid to the Gaza Strip. The report noted that senior Turkish officials said that if Israel allows this, Turkey will consider it a fulfillment of its condition that Israel lifts its siege.
Haaretz's Barak Ravid reports that the tensions between Egypt and Turkey are holding up any Israeli reconciliation with Turkey. Well, good.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Egypt-Turkey alliance, Gaza, Gaza blockade, Hamas, Mohammed Morsy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
Iran financing Gaza tunnel reconstruction
Moadim l'Simcha, a happy holiday to all of you, and a reminder that because I am in Israel, today is an intermediate day of the holiday, on which being on the computer is allowed.
Iran is certainly acting in the spirit of its newly-inked deal with Barack Hussein Obama, who declined to deter Iran's support of terror worldwide: Iran is
financing the reconstruction of Hamas terror tunnels destroyed by Israel during last summer's war.
It is also funding new missile supplies to
replenish stocks used to bombard residential neighbourhoods in Israel
during the war, code-named Operation Protective Edge by Israel.
The renewed funding is a sign that the two old allies are putting behind them
a rift caused by the conflict in Syria, where Shia Iran is backing President Bashar al-Assad against Hamas’s mainly Sunni allies.
Hamas’s leader, Khaled Meshaal, who left Damascus for Qatar after
falling out with the Assad regime, has often fought with Hamas’s
military wing over the strength of the Iranian connection.
However, with the Sunni Arab world joining forces against Iran, led by
Saudi Arabia and President Abdelfattah el-Sisi of Egypt, who are both
hostile to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group has been left little
option but to accept the Iranian largesse.
At the same time,
Iran’s overseas operations arm, the Al-Quds force, led by its
charismatic general Qassem Suleimani, has been consolidating a broad
hold over the Middle East.
It is backing the Shia Houthi rebels
fighting the internationally recognised government in Yemen, and
actively supporting the Shia-dominated Iraqi government’s attempts to
recapture the northern city of Tikrit, the former stronghold of Sunni
dictator Saddam Hussein, from Islamic State (Isil) fighters.
However, Iran may have been forced to pull back, at least in the latter
case, senior diplomats say, adding there is growing evidence that the
Iranians are overplaying their hand.
No one should be surprised at this: The Obama administration has essentially given Iran a green light to become the dominant force in the Middle East. Israel will have to act alone (possibly with behind the scenes support from the Gulf States) to stop Iran.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, al-Qaeda, Barack Hussein Obama, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Iran, Iranian nuclear threat, Khaled Meshaal, Saudi Arabia, terror tunnels, Yemen
Video report on Mubarak acquittal
Here's a CBS News report on the acquittal of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Let's go to the videotape.
More from Ed Morrissey
here.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo, Egyptian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood, Tahrir Square
Abu Bluff and Egypt's foreign ministry both deny Sinai land offer
It took several hours, but both '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and Egypt's
foreign ministry are denying a story I reported earlier today that has Egypt offering Abu Mazen 1,600 square kilometers of the Sinai for a 'Palestinian state' and Abu Mazen
turning down that offer. This is from the next-to-law link.
Israeli statesmen responded favorably to reports of an Egyptian-led
proposal aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the Sinai
Peninsula in order to resolve the issue of refugees.
Earlier in the day, Egypt's Foreign Ministry denied reports of the
initiative, which claimed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi presented
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the proposal. The ministry
added that the proposal was actually made in the past by ousted
President Mohammed Morsi.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Fat chance!
Arutz Sheva
adds:
Al-Tayyib Abd Al-Rahim, Secretary-General of Abbas's office, told the Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency that the reports were "fabricated."
Al-Rahim added that Abbas would not accept any alternative to a
"Palestinian state" on the 1949 Armistice lines with eastern Jerusalem
as its capital.
"This news is completely false and the proposal is an old one
suggested by former head of the Israeli National Security Council Giora
Eiland, who suggested to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and parts
of Sinai with autonomy in the West Bank," al-Rahim said.
Abbas's representative further claimed that Egypt shares the PA's
position calling for a "two state solution" based on the 1949 Armistice
lines.
My guess is that Sisi made the offer, Abu Bluff said no, and that the Egyptian foreign ministry is afraid that disclosing the fact that the offer was made will lead to rioting in the streets, and possibly to Egypt being expelled from the Arab League as happened after Camp David. Egypt is
extremely anti-Semitic.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abu Mazen, Egyptian anti-Semitism, Mohammed Morsy, Palestinian refugees, Palestinian state, Sinai
Boxlike thinking: Abu Bluff turns down 5x larger 'Palestinian state' because it's outside '67 borders'
'
Moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen has turned down an offer for a 'Palestinian state' five times the size of Gaza, because it would have required him to
drop the '67 borders' (1949 armistice lines).
Egyptian president General Abdel Fatah A-Sisi has offered
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas to cede 160 square kilometers
of the Sinai Peninsula adjoining Gaza to the PA, thus creating a
Palestinian state five times the present size of Gaza. In return, the PA
would stop demanding that Israel return to the 1967 borders.
The offer was revealed on IDF Radio.
A-Sisi reportedly suggested that Palestinian "refugees" be allowed to
settle in the new, much enlarged Gaza, which would be demilitarized.
The Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria would enjoy autonomy and
be fully run by the PA, according to the plan, which would leave the PA
with even more territory than it would have if Israel ceded all of Judea
and Samaria.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was aware of the offer and the
United States gave a green light, according to the military radio
station's sources.
Abu Bluff turned down the offer.
A similar proposal was made by Israel's
Giora Eiland when Hosni Mubarak was in power, but at the time Egypt turned it down.
What's perhaps most significant here is the level of cooperation between Israel and Egypt. The Obama administration and the 'Palestinians' are probably tearing their hair out over it.
Oh yes, and that once again the mantra that there is 'no solution other than the two-state solution' is proven false.
Labels: 1949 armistice lines, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Gaza, Giora Eiland, Palestinian state, two-state solution
It's come to this: Egypt urges American restraint in Ferguson, Missouri
In light of the farce that was the United States' '
universal periodic review' at the 'human rights council,' I don't suppose we should be too surprised that the government of Egypt feels that it is able to give '
advice' to the United States regarding the current tensions in Ferguson, Missouri.
Egypt on Tuesday urged U.S. authorities to exercise restraint in dealing
with racially charged demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri - echoing
language Washington used to caution Egypt as it cracked down on Islamist
protesters last year.
It is unusual for Egypt to criticize such a major donor, and it was
not immediately clear why the government would have taken such a step.
...
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement on the unrest
in Ferguson read similarly to one issued by U.S. President Barack
Obama's administration in July 2013, when the White House "urged
security forces to exercise maximum restraint and caution" in dealing
with demonstrations by Mursi supporters.
The ministry added it was "closely following the escalation of
protests" in Ferguson, unleashed by the fatal shooting of an unarmed
black teenager by a white policeman on Aug. 9.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would know how to find his cheek with his tongue. So maybe he really means it?
In any event, the fact that the modern-day equivalent of the
Mouse that Roared feels able to criticize the United States for actions anywhere outside of Egypt speaks volumes about just how poorly regarded the United States is under Obama.
And you were wondering why the likes of ISIS and al-Qaeda feel at liberty to do whatever the heck they please?
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, al-Qaeda, Barack Hussein Obama, degrading US military capabilities, ISIS, United Nations Human Rights Council, United States, universal periodic review
Change! Editor in Chief of Egypt's Al-Ahram: 'We don't have an alliance with the US'
Yet another example of how President Hussein Obama has 'fixed' the United States' relations with the Arab world. In an interview on Russia Today, the editor in chief of al-Ahram, Egypt's largest newspaper (which I believe is government-owned) says that Egypt does not have an alliance with the United States.
Let's go to the videotape.
Obama has sure fixed the United States' relations with the Arab world, hasn't he? Blame it on Bush!
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Egypt, George W. Bush, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood
Israel, Egypt and Abu Mazen have Hamas cornered with Russian help?
I don't like to sole-source DEBKA reports. But for reasons that I will explain below, I believe that there may be some element of truth to this one, which claims that Israel, Egypt and the 'Palestinian Authority' have managed to
corner Hamas with Russian help (Hat Tip:
Udi S).
Debkafile’s
intelligence sources report exclusively that Egyptian President Abdel
Fatteh El-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have lined up in a solid
phalanx against the Islamist Hamas-Islamic Jihad alliance.
Their lineup, backed from the wings by Saudi King Abdullah and Russian President Vladimir Putin, set itself five objectives:
1. To confront Hamas with a solid political-security front which is beyond its power to break.
2. To corner Hamas into accepting the Egyptian ceasefire proposion unchanged and unconditionally.
3. To compel Hamas to disarm, i.e. dismantle its rockets and
tunnels, so pulling the teeth of its military wing, Ezz e-Din al-Qassam.
4. To distance the Obama administration from the triple bloc’s dealings with the Palestinian Islamist factions.
5. To keep the Europeans from interfering in those dealings.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy meeting
in Brussels offered Friday to take charge of Gaza’s border crossings and
work to prevent illegal arms flows.
Saturday, Cairo, Jerusalem and Ramallah politely informed Brussels
that they preferred to handle this situation on their own and no
European diplomatic or security assistance was needed.
The quiet shaping of this three-way alliance for resolving the Gaza
conflict, by means of a sustainable cessation of hostilities, kept most
of Israel’s and world media guessing, says debkafile.
In the interests of tight secrecy, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe
Ya’alon chose to keep the rest of the cabinet in the dark as well,
incurring loud complaints from ministers.
The proposition the three partners have formulated puts Hamas and
Jihad on the spot. The Arab world has abandoned them and their only
source of funding is Tehran. So their choices are grim: Face an
escalated war that Israel will fight until the bitter end, or swallow
hard and accept the only proposition on the table which is tantamount to
disarmament and capitulation.
Their isolation is complete. The Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian
leaders have managed to cut Hamas away from any backing in Washington,
Qatar and Turkey as well as blocking its path to Moscow.
To encourage Hamas to choose the right path, the Israel Air Force is
cruising around-the-clock over Hamas bases and command centers in the
Gaza Strip, ready at a signal to switch to the offensive if the
Palestinian fundamentalists make the wrong choice in Cairo.
Mahmoud Abbas, who appeared to be sitting on the sidelines of the Gaza
conflict during Israel’s month-long military operation, finally threw in
his lot with Sisi and Netanyahu when it came to the crunch.
Why do I believe that this story might be true.
First, we already have seen
Russian cooperation with Israel that effectively counteracts European attempts to punish the Jewish state.
Second, because we know that President Hussein Obama and Secretary of State John FN Kerry favor Hamas, and that Vladimir Putin is an expert at making them look like fools running around in circles.
Third, there's this piece by Amos Harel in Haaretz explaining why the Egyptian cease fire plan is
a disaster for Hamas.
In effect, according to one columnist from the Palestinian
Authority-affiliated Al-Ayyam newspaper, the proposal offers the same
understanding reached after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, with
only cosmetic changes. All of the gestures made by Egypt toward the
Palestinians, like easing restrictions at border crossings and the
gradual elimination of the Israeli buffer zone within the Gaza Strip
come with a very heavy price, as far as Hamas is concerned: Renewed,
reinforced presence of Palestinian Authority forces in Gaza.
This
is a tough pill to swallow for Hamas, as are Egypt’s efforts to bring
the Oslo agreements back to the surface through the back door; Hamas
reviles Oslo even more than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that official Hamas spokespeople
criticized the Egyptian proposal on Saturday. What is surprising is the
rather moderate reaction by the Islamic Jihad, always considered more
extreme than Hamas. It seems that the Islamic Jihad has recently been
warming up to Cairo, and perhaps is less committed to the comprehensive
demands that Hamas had set when the sequence of humanitarian cease-fires
began. Israel, at this point, has yet to issue an official response to
the Egyptian proposal, as it was leaked to the Arab media.
...
The quandary that Hamas faces is clear: without an achievement to tout,
the incredible sacrifice of Gaza’s population – roughly 2,000 dead,
hundreds of thousands of refugees, thousands of homes as well as
infrastructure destroyed – will seem for naught. On the other hand, the
long series of cease-fires might make it hard for the organization to
keep fighting. The humanitarian disaster in Gaza, along with electricity
and potable water shortages, has forced Gaza residents to focus on
rebuilding. The more hawkish approach, favored by Khaled Mehsal in
Qatar, would mean renewed suffering for the Gazan population.
Fourth, the members of Israel's security cabinet have in fact
complained that Netanyahu left them in the dark as reported by DEBKA.
And most importantly, there's
this.
Tzipi Livni may no longer be Israel’s foreign minister but she still has
a capacity to cause diplomatic tremors. Last weekend she did just this
by declaring that there was an agreement between Israel and Egypt to
strangle Hamas. Since there was no official affirmation or denial from
Cairo, despite calls from Hamas to do so, Livni’s remarks evoked a flood
of commentary. Few doubted that there is indeed an Israeli-Arab axis,
spearheaded by Egypt, whose immediate aim is to dismantle Hamas’ control
over the Gaza Strip. Ultimately, it also seeks to eradicate from the
region all structures of what they call political Islam.
...
[A]n item posted by the military spokesman Lt. Col. Muhammad Samir on
his Facebook page the day after Livni made her declaration did highlight
to some measure the current level of collaboration between Egypt and
Israel. He noted that the Egyptian army had destroyed a total of 1,659
tunnels in the border area between Gaza and Egypt; a feat which the
Israelis themselves could not have pulled off from their position on the
northern and eastern borders of Gaza.
What the officer did not concede, however, was that this was largely
due to American assistance. Since 2008 the US had given the Egyptian
army equipment worth $23 million to identify and destroy the tunnels,
which for the past eight years have been the lifeline for Gaza’s
population.
Furthermore, in one year since the overthrow of Egypt’s civilian
President Mohamed Morsi the regime in Cairo have closed the Rafah
crossing for a total of 320 days. The reason, they claim, is to counter
security threats in the Sinai.
Apart from the tunnels and Rafah crossing, the Egyptian authorities
had yet another lethal weapon in its arsenal. That was the state-backed
media, which during the same period revelled in an orgy of anti-Hamas
vitriol that reached its climax with their wholehearted support for the
latest Israeli onslaught on Gaza. In a country where press freedom has
long been dead and buried, such ranting could not take place without
official approval and support.
Hmmm.
In case you're wondering, the Egyptian newspaper al-Shorouk published what it claims is the text of the Egyptian proposal on Friday. You can find an English translation
here.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abu Mazen, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Egypt, European Union, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, John Kerry, Palestinian Authority, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United States
A 'win-win'... for Hamas
Although largely defeated militarily, Hamas has succeeded in attacking Israel and using it to drive an even
deeper wedge between the Jewish state and its 'most trusted ally.' This is David Horovitz.
It becomes ever harder to understand what the
US administration thinks it is doing in the Middle East. Its influence
is waning across the region. It appears insufficiently robust — to put
it mildly — when dealing with the region’s most dangerous regimes,
notably Iran. Its ill-judged lack of enthusiasm for Abdel-Fattah
el-Sissi — apparently blamed by Washington for ending an elected Muslim
Brotherhood presidency, even though president Mohammed Morsi would
likely have ensured no further elections — is pushing Egypt ever closer
to Russia. And now ties with the region’s only democracy are fraying.
Some in the administration appear to labor
under the delusion that if only Benjamin Netanyahu — described by some
US officials in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal as “reckless and
untrustworthy” — could be weakened and eased aside, Israelis might elect
a leadership more inclined to follow its thinking and consider
territorial compromise in the cause of a rejuvenated peace process with
the Palestinians. The fact is, of course, that an Israel attempting to
de-fang Hamas, concerned at the possibility of rising tensions in the
West Bank, aware that Hezbollah in Lebanon is many times more powerful
than Hamas is, and watching Iran working to outwit the West on its route
to nuclear weapons, is as likely to veer left as Hamas is to
voluntarily disarm. Far from being the most obdurate prime minister,
Netanyahu is the most moderate that Israel can be expected to choose in
the foreseeable future.
It is frankly astounding to the overwhelming
majority of Israelis that Israel is being blamed for and pressured to
end a war it manifestly sought to avoid — against a terrorist-government
sworn to its destruction that repeatedly breaches the ceasefire efforts
Israel consistently accepts. That the conflict is widely
misrepresented, and that hostile governments are critical, is bad enough
for Israel. Far, far graver is that key allies, to one degree or
another, are turning upon it.
...
Rather than criticizing Israel for seeking to
protect its civilians from Hamas, and moving now to limit its capacity
to do so, the US, UK and the rest of the international community should
be emphatically backing Israel in its struggle against the cynical Hamas
— for the sake, too, of the civilians of Gaza. They should be insisting
that Hamas disarm. And they should be making clear that they share
Israel’s and Egypt’s concern that lifting the blockade is not tenable so
long as any easing of restrictions would be exploited by Hamas.
They would thus be underlining the message to
Gazans that Hamas is not fighting for their freedom, as it claims, but
is, through its pursuit of war against Israel, denying them their
freedom.
They would also be giving Israel reason to
believe that when it finds itself in crisis — in good part, it can be
argued, because it undertook a territorial withdrawal widely urged by
the international community — the world will stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with it. Right now, the sense in Israel is quite the reverse — not
support, but abandonment.
From Hamas’s point of view, it must be a
source of immense delight to witness the strains, and practical fallout,
in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem. It wins an
election in which the US insisted it be allowed to take part, even
though it has never renounced terrorism. It murders its way to control
of Gaza. It diverts Gaza’s resources to turn the Strip into one great
big terrorist bunker. It hits Israel, over and over and over again. It
intimidates international journalists to not report on and film its
attack methods. And the international community condemns Israel, the UN
sets up inquiries into Israeli war crimes, and Israel’s allies limit its
arms supplies.
All it needs to do, Hamas can only conclude,
is keep firing at Israel’s towns and villages, forcing Israel to
respond, confident that this will bring still more criticism down on
Israel as well as growing restrictions on Israel’s ability to defend
itself. Wow, the Hamas leaders must be thinking, the free world is just
so dumb.
John Podhoretz
adds regarding the US block on Hellfire missiles to Israel:
Simply put: It’s a gigantic hissy fit, an expression of rage against
Bibi Netanyahu, by whom the administration feels dissed. The quotes in
this article are almost beyond belief. In the annals of American foreign
policy, no ally has ever been talked about in this way.
EXAMPLE: A senior U.S. official said the U.S. and Israel clashed
mainly because the U.S. wanted a cease-fire before Mr. Netanyahu was
ready to accept one. “Now we both want one,” one of the officials said.
This is also transparently absurd. Netanyahu didn’t want this war,
and is transparently eager for any way to extricate Israel from a long
struggle. What he can’t accept is a cease-fire that leaves Hamas with
sufficient firepower and with intact tunnels—which is something you’d
think the United States would similarly support.
EXAMPLE: “It’s become very personal,” an official tells the Wall
Street Journal. Yeah, no kidding. That’s a great way to make policy.
For five and a half years now, some Israel advocates have been
attempting to make the case to others that there is something new and
dark in the Obama administration’s perspective on Israel—that there is
an animus as pronounced as the one during the administration of the
Elder George Bush, which was so self-evident the Jewish vote for Bush in
the 1992 reelection was a staggeringly low 11 percent.
This Wall Street Journal article should now leave no illusions. In
its transparent hostility—not to mention the cowardice of hiding behind
anonymity to issue its repugnant bitch-slaps—the Obama administration is
worse than the Bush 41 administration. It’s the worst since
Eisenhower. Were it not for Iron Dome, it would be the worst ever. And
given the decision to hold up weaponry during wartime, it may yet
surpass Eisenhower.
And Eisenhower
came around to
support Israel in his second term.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Dwight Eisenhower, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood
'Sisi is worse than Netanyahu'
The New York Times reports that there is much less pressure on Israel to stop Operation Protective Edge than there was to stop, for example, Operation Cast Lead. One reason for that is that the Arab countries, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia,
loath Hamas more than they do Israel (Hat Tip:
Memeorandum).
Although
Egypt is traditionally the key go-between in any talks with Hamas —
deemed a terrorist group by the United States and Israel — the
government in Cairo this time surprised Hamas by publicly proposing a
cease-fire agreement that met most of Israel’s demands and none from the
Palestinian group. Hamas was tarred as intransigent when it immediately
rejected it, and Cairo has continued to insist that its proposal
remains the starting point for any further discussions.
But
as commentators sympathetic to the Palestinians slammed the proposal as
a ruse to embarrass Hamas, Egypt’s Arab allies praised it. King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt
the next day to commend it, Mr. Sisi’s office said, in a statement that
cast no blame on Israel but referred only to “the bloodshed of innocent
civilians who are paying the price for a military confrontation for
which they are not responsible.”
“There
is clearly a convergence of interests of these various regimes with
Israel,” said Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to Palestinian
negotiators who is now a fellow at the Brookings Institution in
Washington. In the battle with Hamas, Mr. Elgindy said, the Egyptian
fight against the forces of political Islam and the Israeli struggle
against Palestinian militants were nearly identical. “Whose proxy war is
it?” he asked.
The
dynamic has inverted all expectations of the Arab Spring uprisings. As
recently as 18 months ago, most analysts in Israel, Washington and the
Palestinian territories expected the popular uprisings to make the Arab
governments more responsive to their citizens, and therefore more
sympathetic to the Palestinians and more hostile to Israel.
But
instead of becoming more isolated, Israel’s government has emerged for
the moment as an unexpected beneficiary of the ensuing tumult, now
tacitly supported by the leaders of the resurgent conservative order as
an ally in their common fight against political Islam.
All of this would make it a pity if Israel were to pass up the opportunity to destroy Hamas, as the Obama-Kerry junta has been demanding. We never know when or if we might have another opportunity.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, Operation Protective Edge, radical Islam, Saudi Arabia
Sisi to Hamas: 'I hope you die'
One of the reasons that there is very little international pressure on Israel to ease up on Hamas right now is that Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi is ignoring pressure from '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and
others to step in and
save Hamas by bringing about a cease fire.
Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas telephoned Sisi
and urged him to intervene to achieve an "immediate ceasefire" between
Israel and Hamas. Abbas later admitted that his appeal to Sisi and
(other Arab leaders) had fallen on deaf ears.
Sisi's decision not to intervene in the current crisis did not come
as a surprise. In fact, Sisi and many Egyptians seem to be delighted
that Hamas is being badly hurt.
Some Egyptians are even openly expressing hope that Israel will
completely destroy Hamas, which they regard as the "armed branch of the
Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization."
Sisi's Egypt has not forgiven Hamas for its alliance with Muslim
Brotherhood and its involvement in terrorist attacks against Egyptian
civilians and soldiers over the past year.
The Egyptians today understand that Hamas and other radical Islamist
groups pose a serious threat to their national security. That is why the
Egyptian authorities have, over the past year, been taking tough
security measures not only against Hamas, but also the entire population
of the Gaza Strip.
These measures include the destruction of dozens of smuggling tunnels
along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the designation
of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
True, there are still many Egyptians and Arabs who sympathize with
Hamas, mainly because it is being targeted by Israel. But over the past
week, there are also different voices coming out of Egypt and some other
Arab countries -- voices that publicly support the Israeli military
operation against the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip.
There's much, much more.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Operation Protective Edge
Egyptian woman's anti-Obama rant goes viral
This video in Egypt has gone viral.
Let's go to the videotape.
Obama has really repaired US relations with the Arab world, hasn't he? Heh.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Egypt, Mohammed Morsy
Egypt seeking weapons that would undermine Camp David treaty
Egypt is seeking a weapons package from Russia, which would include the S-300 anti-missile defense system, and which would
undermine the Camp David treaty that Egypt signed with Israel 35 years ago.
Cairo is seeking air-defense systems such as the advanced S-300
that Syria and Iran have sought, MiG fighter jets, and Kornet antitank
weapons, which could cause Israel worry, according to a Washington
Institute for Near East Policy report.
Despite the fact that
Egypt has maintained the peace deal with Israel since 1979, a transfer
of such advanced weapons “would degrade Israel’s qualitative military
edge,” said the report, titled “Egypt’s arms deal with Russia:
Potential Strategic Costs,” by David Schenker and Eric Trager.
“To be sure, the strategic cooperation and level of trust between
Israel and Egypt, particularly on Sinai, has never been better. But
changing the status quo could undermine that trust and perhaps even the
Camp David peace treaty,” it said.
...
“Egypt’s priorities right now should be all about counterterrorism
operations, both in the Sinai and the Nile Valley,” Schenker added.
“Russian helicopters fit the bill, though S-300s and sea-to-land
missiles obviously do not.”
And guess how much influence the United States has in Egypt right now? Yes, zero....
Egyptians see the US as an unreliable ally, stated the report, which
led Egyptian army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “to seek
Moscow’s help in diversifying the country’s sources of military
procurement.”
What could go wrong?
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Egypt, Egyptian army, Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Russia, Russian weapons
Massive explosion rocks Cairo police headquarters
At least three people were killed and dozens injured from a
massive car bomb outside Cairo's police headquarters on Friday morning. (The picture is from a previous incident).
The Egyptian capital of Cairo has been shaken by a massive explosion.
The blast, originating from a car bomb detonated right next to the
city's police headquarters, was powerful enough to destroy much of the
structure of the building.
Egyptian media reports at least 3 killed and dozens injured.
The bombing, which took place at 6:30 a.m., left the center of Cairo enveloped in smoke, reports Al Arabiya. Gunshots were also reported to have been heard in nearby buildings following the explosion.
The attack comes on the heels of a constitutional referendum
that passed overwhelmingly last Thursday, which promised a "democratic
transition" by the interim military government, and which was boycotted
by ousted President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
Hmmm.
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt, Egyptian regime change, Mohammed Morsy, Muslim Brotherhood
Ouch: Kedar tells 'Bibi' to find some backbone
Mordechai Kedar challenges Binyamin Netanyahu: Does 'Bibi' really have the guts to stand up to Obama? Or is he all bluff?
Kedar does so using the example of Egypt, where army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has forced US President Hussein Obama to blink and meekly accept the fact that Mohammed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood are not coming back - to power or otherwise - for the foreseeable future. In fact, argues Kedar, Sisi could have Morsy executed (after a 'trial' of course), and there is nothing Obama can do about it.
If Sisi can stand up to Obama, argues Kedar, so can 'Bibi' (Hat Tip:
Memeorandum).
The events in Egypt prove that Obama
and his team of aides are helpless against the determination of Middle Eastern
countries. That’s how it is with Iran, with Iraq and with Syria. They can not
enter into a confrontation with governments that are determined and firm in
their positions, and ultimately Obama accepts the decisions of Middle East
regimes, even if he does not agree with them.
What Netanyahu can and must
conclude is that it is not at all necessary to come to an agreement with the
Palestinians. Kerry can come again and again, can raise a thousand and one
ideas, but cannot take away the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel,
that was granted to it thousands of years ago, and again in 1920 in the San Remo
Conference.
Obama and Kerry cannot assure Israel that a Palestinian state
with territorial contiguity would not at some point become another Hamas state
like that which arose six-and-a-half years ago in the Gaza Strip, and therefore
Israel must relate to their demands exactly as Sisi relates to
them.
Giving in does not lead to agreement, but rather to determination.
Israel must do what Israeli interests – not American interests – dictate, and in
this phase of history Israel’s immediate interest is to bring the Palestinian
Authority to an end, and to continue what Hamas began: to establish the
Palestinian Emirates on the ruins of the PA, based on the Arab cities in Judea
and Samaria. Israel must maintain forever the rural expanse and offer Israeli
citizenship to its residents.
A Palestinian terror state with territorial
contiguity would be an existential threat to Israel, and therefore Israel should
assert its right – it can and must say to Obama and Kerry: No! If Netanyahu is
as determined as is Sisi, he will succeed against Obama and Kerry, exactly as
Sisi has.
Read the whole thing. If only Netanyahu can find the backbone to take Kedar's advice....
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Binyamin Netanyahu, Egypt, Mohammed Morsy, Mordechai Kedar, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, two-state solution
Egypt's al-Sisi slams Hagel over aid suspension
Who's afraid of the Obama administration? Certainly not Egyptian army chief
Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi.
Egypt does not appreciate the way in which the US hints at suspending
aid from time to time, army chief Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi communicated
in a strongly worded message to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
during a conversation last Thursday.
This is especially true when dealing with a country the size of Egypt, the military leader added.
Egypt rejects any external pressure that seeks to affect its domestic
affairs, Sisi said, according to a military source quoted on Friday in
the London- based daily Al-Hayat.
Among those standing in line to replace US aid are the Gulf countries.
After Morsi was deposed, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab
Emirates promised Egypt a total of $12b. in loans, grants and fuel
shipments. The aid has kept the economy afloat and may give Egypt some
policy flexibility.
“Compared to Gulf aid, American aid is
peanuts. It won’t financially affect Egypt and could easily be filled by
Gulf countries,” said Abdullah al-Askar, chairman of the foreign
affairs committee in Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council, an appointed
parliament that has only advisory powers. “People in the Gulf do not see
[cutting the aid] as a democratic message. Otherwise why is America
allowing the Syrian regime to continue killing people every day?” Both
Saudi Arabia and Egypt – America’s most important allies in the Arab
world – are frustrated with US policy and see Washington as an
indecisive superpower.
“The US position is not clear and not
understood and comes at a time when Egypt needs help,” a government
official said. “For sure the US will lose the support of the Egyptian
people and it is natural that the void it leaves by its loss of the
Egyptian people will benefit another power in the world.”
And you thought that Obama would improve American relations with the Arab Muslim world....
Labels: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Barack Hussein Obama, Chuck Hagel, Egyptian army, Egyptian Revolution
