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Why Egypt is not a friend of Palestine Part Two - Sisi deepens ties with Israel

In Part One I covered Egypt’s debt quagmire that has reduced its ability to act as a sovereign nation, indebted to the Western neocolonialist cartel and their Arab State allies in the region. 

Source: Central Bank of Egypt

In Part Two I want to delve into the Sinai Peninsula destabilisation and Egypt’s flourishing military and economic collaboration with Israel. 

The Sinai Islamist insurgency (an ISIS offshoot branded Wilayat Sinai or Sinai Province - SP) began at the same time as the Western-orchestrated “Arab Springs” were launched across the region but in particular, in Egypt and Syria. 

The campaign “Operation Eagle” began in 2011 following an increase in alleged Islamist militant activities in the Peninsula. Approximately 1000 troops and hundreds of armored personnel carriers were deployed. 

This represented the first major deployment of Egyptian troops in Sinai since the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, thus marking a substantial change in the military and security situation in Sinai.

I personally remember trying to cross the Sinai in August 2012 for my first attempt at entering Gaza. Fifteen Egyptian soldiers were killed at the Rafah border during Ramadan by unknown gunmen and the entire area was shut down while Egyptian military scoured the desert for the killers. Entry to Gaza was denied, even to Palestinians. 

The recently “elected” Muslim BrotherhoodPresident Morsi ordered full military control of the Sinai. Gaza was put on devastating lockdown with Morsi flooding the lifeline tunnels between Gaza Rafah and Egyptian Rafah with sewage water. This was done under the pretext of preventing the “flow of weapons” from Hamas to the Islamists in the Sinai - despite the fact that Hamas and ISIS have not been considered allies although their agendas may have some cross-over, as in Syria. 

At the same time Morsi was effectively exporting terrorist (Muslim Brotherhood) forces to fight alongside Al Qaeda in the Western-sponsored regime change war in Syria. As reported by the Washington Institute: 

In May 2013, for example, Qatar-based cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi -- a major Brotherhood ideological influence -- called on Sunnis to join the fight in Syria. The next month, then-President Morsi's office announced that Egyptians returning from the fight in Syria would not be prosecuted, and Mr. Morsi later keynoted a rally at Cairo Stadium at which radical clerics endorsed the Syrian jihad.

After Sisi took control in Egypt, deposing Morsi in a violent military coup - the radicalisation of Muslim Brotherhood factions in Egypt increased as did the exodus to fight in Syria. 

In 2022 Arab Center DC reported that: 

Over the past decade, Sinai has been the epicenter of terrorist attacks in Egypt and the base from which Islamist militants wage their insurgency against the Egyptian government. Their assaults mainly target security forces, including military convoys, checkpoints, and facilities, and have mostly taken place in the cities of northern Sinai, particularly al-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah. However, as a result of Egyptian military operations, over the past few years SP’s activities have moved to the western part of North Sinai, notably to the city of Bir al-Abd, which in November 2017 witnessed one of the deadliest extremist attacks in Egypt’s history when SP militants stormed the al-Rawda Mosque, injuring 128 people and killing more than 300, including 27 children.

Under Sisi the military operations have achieved very little success in quelling the SP insurgency. Sisi has also been accused of human rights abuses in his “war on terror” with indiscriminate attacks that have led to the destruction of Bedouin homes and villages and the deaths of civilians during bombing campaigns and artillery bombardment. 

From a Human Rights Watch report (Caveat - HRW is a tool of the US deep state and as such, the information must be considered in context with the direction of travel of Zionist and US agendas in the region) 

Egyptian military and police have carried out systematic and widespread arbitrary arrests—including of children—enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings, collective punishment, and forced evictions—abuses it has attempted to conceal through an effective ban on independent reporting. The military has also possibly conducted unlawful air and ground attacks that have killed numerous civilians—including children—and used civilian properties for military purposes. In addition, it has recruited, armed, and directed local militias, which have themselves engaged in serious rights violations, such as torture and arbitrary arrests, often exploiting their position to settle personal scores.

This failure to bring militants to justice fuels theories about the Sisi regime’s political interest in prolonging the conflict in Sinai, which may serve to secure domestic political support - war is always a way to retain power particularly when confronting turbulent domestic environments. 

It could also have a more sinister purpose. We should always bear in mind that ISIS in Syria is a US alliance proxy as are the majority of terrorist groups globally, acting in the interests of the Zionist regime and neocolonialist adventurism in the West Asia region and further afield. 

Strategic ties between Egypt and Israel have deepened under Sisi’s rule. Israel has allowedsignificant Egyptian military units and armaments to be deployed to the northeastern section of the Sinai Peninsula in contravention of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, which restricts the number of Egyptian personnel and armaments in this zone. 

Egypt allegedly gave Israel permission to carry out drone strikes in the Sinai, officially targeting extremists which could have included Palestinian Resistance fighters. Israel carried out an estimated 100 strikes between 2015 and 2018, with the 2014 savage aggression against Gaza conducted during these operations. 

When the New York Times exposed these operations in 2018 it described Egypt and Israel as secret allies in a covert war against a common foe. The Sisi regime issued vehement denials fearing a public backlash from a majority Egyptian population that has historically opposed the Zionist theft and occupation of Palestinian territory.

This information leak also led to a security blackout in the Sinai region which has provided cover for the Sisi regime human rights abuses including the razing of Egyptian Rafah homes and infrastructure and the displacement of thousands of Bedouin tribes. 

In 2019 Sisi admitted to CBS ‘60 Minutes’ News program that relations were the closest they had ever been with Israel. From a Reuters report: 

Asked whether the cooperation was the closest and deepest that he has had with Israel, Sisi responded: "That is correct."

"The Air Force sometimes needs to cross to the Israeli side. And that's why we have a wide range of coordination with the Israelis,"

The Egyptian regime also tried to kill this report, demanding that CBS not air the interview. The request was denied. 

Both Egypt and Israel have cooperated in closing down tunnels connecting the Sinai to Gaza, which have been used to smuggle people and goods in both directions. Egypt has also kept the border crossing between Gaza and the Sinai closed for the most part, generally only opening it for certain periods to allow for medical and family visits.

Again, I have personally experienced the dehumanisation and collective humiliation of Palestinians by the Egyptian security forces at the Rafah border crossing. In August 2012 temperatures were in the mid 40s and the area outside the entrance gates to the border terminal had no shade. Buses were constantly arriving carrying more Palestinian families to the area. 

Thousands of Palestinians were waiting at the gates to be processed and to return to Gaza. The gates remained closed from morning to night for three days forcing us to sleep in Al Arish which was known as a security risk especially for foreigners. 

On the third day, with crowds of Palestinians packed into a small area outside the gates in sweltering temperatures and a cloudless sky - the Egyptians opened a tiny side gate forcing the Palestinian crowds to crush each other in an attempt to push through the gap. Egyptian guards yelled and pushed the scrambling people, treating them just as Zionists treat them in the apartheid Occupied Territories. This inhumane treatment did not improve in the passport processing terminal where Egyptian intelligence forces deliberately delayed the procedures and left Palestinians waiting for hours. 

In May 2020, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency traveled to Cairo to meet secretly with Egyptian officials, according to Israeli press reports. The meeting was supposedly geared to alerting Cairo about Netanyahu’s annexation plans for the West Bank - the plans were delayed but this serves to demonstrate the close intelligence and political ties between the two countries. 

The natural gas field alliance 

In 2021 Egypt’s Minister of Energy Tarek al-Molla traveled to Israel to meet with his Israeli counterpart, Yuval Steinitz, as well as with Prime Minister Netanyahu, to discuss a major collaborative project. From the ACDC report: 

Gas from Palestine’s large offshore Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean would be transported via a new pipeline on the seabed to connect with liquefication facilities in Egypt. Currently, gas from the Leviathan field is being sent to Egypt via a pipeline that runs to the Sinai Peninsula. The goal of this new project, according to an Israeli official, would be to use these facilities to export gas to Europe, where demand is rising. 

Undoubtedly, Israel sees this collaboration as a way of linking the Egyptian economy to Israel so that any future Egyptian leader would think twice about rolling back bilateral relations.

From Egypt’s perspective, this deal fits into its plans to become a major regional hub for natural gas. In 2015, a large gas field, called Zohr, was discovered in Egyptian territorial waters in the Mediterranean, and Egypt has been the force behind the establishment of the “East Mediterranean Gas Forum” which includes Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority which is nothing more than a traitorous subordinate of the Zionist regime. 

The tourism incentive 

In early March 2021, Israeli Minister of Intelligence Eli Cohen met with Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Intelligence Nasser Fahmi in the coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and said Egypt was doing “everything possible” to make the Sinai safe for Israeli tourists. 

Interestingly, Cohen was reportedly accompanied by 60 Israeli officials and businesspeople, indicating that both countries hope to boost tourism in the coming years. (ACDC)

Again Egypt ensured scarce media coverage of the Cohen delegation. The risk of public backlash was still high with the Egyptian public sympathy consistently engrained in the Palestinian nationalist movement. 

Cohen was cited as saying: 

“Egypt is interested in promoting cooperation with Israel in all fields. We will continue to act to bolster economic and bilateral ties in the future.”

Polling in 2020 conducted by the respected Zogby Research Services found some interesting data on Egyptian public attitudes toward Israel and the Palestinian issue. The question “How important is it that there be a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” revealed that 79 percent of Egyptians thought it was “very important”; 15 percent said “somewhat important”; and only 6 percent said “somewhat unimportant or not important at all.” Concerning the question about the possibility of Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank, 75 percent of Egyptians believe that cooperation with Israel should come to an end if that were to occur.

There are limits to how far Sisi can publicly go in collaborating with Israel and a more serious disconnect from the Arab Peace Initiativewould incur domestic unrest. At the same time he must avoid any major confrontation with Israel to secure the strategic and economic projects that have ensured financial and political support from the Zionist lobby and supporters in the US. Sisi must also keep the US on board to avoid prosecution for the human rights abuses conducted by his regime. 

It should however come as no surprise that, since October 7th, the Sisi regime has bannedjournalists from entering Gaza: 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said “any unilateral action” by Egypt as regards letting journalists into Gaza might be seen [by Israel] as “inappropriate” and might “have adverse consequences to other components” of the arrangement between Egypt and Israel, such as “the entry of assistance.”

Cairo-based journalists confirmed that they had been told to request Israel’s agreement if they wanted to enter Gaza via the Egyptian Rafah border crossing. Those journalists who did seek Israel’s permission were refused entry. 

An audio recording of the response that an Israeli press spokesperson gave to a journalist who requested a permit to enter via Rafah. She said she could not issue permits for a crossing point that is not under Israeli control and, referring to what the Egyptians are telling journalists, she said: “I have the impression it’s just a pretext. I think they’re making you go round in circles.”

Both regimes have an agenda of preventing international media coverage of the Zionist brutal genocide that has been ongoing for 9 months in Gaza. Israel is the driver of the blockade but Egypt is complicit in the deliberate news black-out which only serves to protect Israel from exposure as the terrorist entity it really is. 

In Part Three I will get to the non-state actors with close ties to the Sisi regime who control Sinai, mediate with Israel and secure monopoly deals to rebuild Gaza post 2021’s Zionist aggression. 

In further chapters I will also have a look at some of the organisations that publicly oppose Sisi’s normalisation-with-genocidal-Israel policy and examine who is really responsible for the humanitarian relief blockade on trucks entering Gaza through Rafah since October 7th, Israel or Egypt? 

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