Tag Archive for Egypt

| April 16, 2012
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Egypt’s Suleiman: Israel may consider occupying Sinai

Ex-regime strongman says he fears ‘price Egypt will have to pay if Israel decides to reoccupy Sinai.’ Calls on political rivals to ‘exercise caution, keep peace in region’ in light of close relations between Egypt and Hamas

Egyptian presidential candidate Omar Suleiman addressed the relations between Egypt and Israel for the first time since he announced his candidacy earlier this month.

In an interview with Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Saba’a, Suleiman analyzed relations between the two neighboring countries in the wake of the Arab Spring and the ongoing terrorist activity originating from the Sinai Peninsula. “I’m fearful of the price Egypt will have to pay if Israel decides to reoccupy Sinai,” he said. Continue Reading »

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| April 15, 2012
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Egypt’s election body disqualifies Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood candidate from presidential race

According to an Egyptian official, the Mubarak-era intelligence officer and Muslim Brotherhood’s Khairat al-Shater are among 10 nominees to be disqualified.

Egypt’s election body disqualified 10 candidates from the presidential poll on Saturday evening, including former Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, the Muslim Brotherhood‘s Khairat al-Shater and Salafi Hazem Abu Ismail, an official said.

AP-Former Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman is escorted by police after he submitted candidacy

Former Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman is escorted by police after he submitted his candidacy papers at the Higher Presidential Elections Commission, in Cairo, Egypt - Photo by AP

The candidates in Egypt’s presidential vote have 48 hours to appeal.

According to reports in Egyptian media, Suleiman was disqualified because he lacks a few votes in his list of supporters.

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| April 7, 2012
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Muslim Brotherhood: We will not put Egypt-Israel peace treaty to referendum

Freedom and Justice party MP Al-Dardiri’s announcement over Camp David Accords made as an Egyptian delegation tries to show the U.S. there is nothing to fear from Muslim Brotherhood rule.

A member of parliament for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party said on Friday that the movement would not put Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel to a national referendum vote.

Muslim Brotherhood Members in Egyptian Parliament

Muslim Brotherhood members attending the first Egyptian parliament session after the revolution that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo - Photo by: Reuters

“We will not put the Camp David accords, or any other agreement Egypt has signed to a national referendum,” said member of parliament Abd Al-Maujood Al-Dardiri. Continue Reading »

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| April 7, 2012
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Op-Ed: Egyptian Candidate Tells Palestinians to Accept Israel?

One of the presidential hopefuls running for Egyptian elections to be held on 23 and 24 May 2012 is Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.

Walid Shoebat

Walid Shoebat

Israel’s most-watched news program Ulpan Shishi was even more hopeful, going out of its way to capture statements from Aboul Fotouh in English.

In the interview, Aboul Fotouh went as far as to state that “we say to Palestinians ‘you should recognize the State of Israel’.” He even expressed the view strongly that the Camp David Accord “should be respected.”

The Arabic reveals otherwise. In a press conference, Aboul Fotouh announced that the entire interview was fabricated:

“It was said that I told an Israeli journalist that I accept Camp David, that Palestinians need to recognize Israel and that Israelis need to recognize Palestine. Continue Reading »

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| April 5, 2012
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Egypt jails Christian student for insulting Islam

17-year-old gets three years for publishing cartoons on his Facebook page mocking Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.

Egypt lower parliament, Majlis As-Shaab - Photo by Reuters

Egypt lower parliament, Majlis As-Shaab - Photo by Reuters

CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on his Facebook page that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammad, actions that sparked sectarian violence.

Gamal Abdou Massoud was also accused of distributing some of his cartoons to his school friends in a village in the southern city of Assiut, home to a large Christian population and the hometown of the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda.
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| April 3, 2012
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Illegal exodus: Israel authorities seize remains of ancient Egypt coffin

Israel Antiquities Authority says two thousands-of-years-old decorated wooden coffin lids were smuggled into Israel via Dubia and Europe.

 

The lids of two lavish ancient ritual coffins were seized in Israel after being smuggled from Egypt via Dubai, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said on Tuesday.

In an announcement released just days before the celebration of Passover – marking the Israelites Exodus from Egypt – the IAA indicated the rare artifacts were uncovered a few months ago during a raid of antiques shops in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The wooden lids are coated with plaster and decorated with paintings and hieroglyphics; a carbon-dating examination by IAA officials determined that the artifacts were indeed authentic, with one dating to sometime between the 10th and the 8th centuries B.C.E.

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| April 1, 2012
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In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood does not necessarily spell family

The Brotherhood’s decision to name a presidential candidate is causing panic in the movement and throughout Egypt, but the military and the secular public have not yet had the final word.

 

The Muslim Brotherhood‘s decision to field Khairat al-Shater as a candidate for Egypt’s presidency has stirred panic not only throughout Israel, but throughout Egypt as well, and even within the Muslim Brotherhood itself.

Supposedly, the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal is to seize control of every outlet of the Egyptian government, from the parliament – in which the Brotherhood won forty seven percent of seats – to the constitutional drafting committee, which has a majority of religious members. Continue Reading »

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| March 29, 2012
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Camel Merchants Threaten Cairo Siege

A ban on camel sales has halted USD 250 million in annual trade, quickened rising meat costs, and led camel merchants to the brink.

 

Camel merchants in Egypt have threatened to besiege the Agriculture Ministry and other government buildings in Cairo with their animals if a temporary ban on their trade is not lifted.

“This ban has harmed the livelihood of thousands of people working in the camel trade, mainly in the provinces of the Red Sea and Aswan,” Hassan Hafez, who heads an association of camel traders, told Gulf News.

Earlier this month, Egypt’s agriculture minister imposed a ban on the trade in camels across the country after a massive outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in Egypt. Continue Reading »

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| March 27, 2012
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Report: Israeli Arab killed in shooting incident near border with Egypt

IDF troops open fire after identifying suspicious figures crossing into Israel; incident took place hours after Netanyahu surveys progress of new border fence.

Two suspected smugglers, including what reports say was an Israeli Arab, were killed following a shooting incident involving Israel Defense Forces soldiers near the border with Egypt on Tuesday, less than two weeks after a similar incident resulted in the death of an Egyptian smuggler.

The incident took place hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surveyed the progress of the new fence being erected along Israel’s border with Egypt.

Earlier this month, four smugglers were fired upon after illegally crossing the border by both Egyptian and Israeli forces patrolling the border, resulting in one death.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| March 25, 2012
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Hamas: PA using Gaza fuel crisis to incite

PA denies charges that West Bank leadership had asked the Egyptians to cut off fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip.

 

The Palestinian Authority is exploiting the severe fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip to incite Palestinians against Hamas, the Islamist movement charged Saturday.

The allegation is a sign of renewed tensions between the two Palestinian parties in light of their failure to implement the recent Qatari-brokered reconciliation agreement that was signed between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

The fuel crisis has forced the only power plant in the Gaza Strip to cut off electricity for several hours every day. Continue Reading »

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| March 25, 2012
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Economic distress, not ideological fervor, is behind Sinai’s terror boom

When looking for the motivation behind the 13 explosions that hit the gas line connecting Egypt and Israel, it’s too easy to blame al-Qaida.

Egyptian security forces breathed a sigh of relief twice this week. Once after Bedouin from the Rafah region agreed to lift the siege of the military base used by international peacekeepers in Sinai, and another time after Bedouin from Nuweiba “agreed” to release a Czech woman who was taken hostage while acting as a tour guide to a group of 15 Czech tourists who were on their way to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The three previous abductions, of U.S., Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 24, 2012
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Report: Iran planned to bomb Israeli ship in Suez Canal

Egyptian paper Al-Ahram reports that two Egyptian citizens received instructions from Iranian agents to attack an Israeli ship, and offered a third man 50 million Egyptian pounds to carry out the act.

Iran had planned to bomb an Israeli ship while it crossed the Suez Canal, the prosecution in Egypt’s state security court said, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Saturday.

According to the report, two Egyptians were recently arrested and investigated for allegedly planning an attack on an Israeli ship in the Suez Canal.

The investigation of the two found that they had received their instructions from Iranian agents, and that the two asked a third person, by the name of Mohamed Zakri, to carry out the act in exchange for 50 million Egyptian pounds.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 23, 2012
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Israel to Transfer Diesel to Gaza

Gaza energy crisis over? Israel to transfer 450 thousand liters of industrial diesel for the Gaza power station.

 

Israel will transfer 450 thousand liters of industrial diesel to Gaza on Friday for the Gaza power station.

The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has reportedly purchased the fuel from the Israeli Dor Alon company and it will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The Coordinator of Government Activities in Yesha, Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, has agreed to open the crossing on Friday, when it is normally closed, for the purpose of transferring the diesel.

The shortage of fuel in Gaza caused a power crisis that triggered lengthy blackouts in Hamas-run Gaza last month. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 22, 2012
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Egypt-Gaza Power Struggle Leaves PA Arabs in the Dark

Gaza’s Hamas rulers are caught between their rage at Israel and their distaste for having to cooperate with Egypt.

The result has been a wintry region without electricity and, within the next few days, the situation will reach crisis proportions if the leadership does not come up with a solution.

Storage tanks in which fuel was kept as a back-up have been drained nearly dry; basic infrastructure is now threatened, local sources say.

However, Hamas did not expect Egypt to balk at the intransigence so long tolerated by a Jewish State that had formerly supplied Gaza with electricity even during the 2006 war, and subsequently during Operation Cast Lead. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 22, 2012
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Egypt struggles for spy satellite program progress

Country has struggled to make progress in gaining intelligence satellite capabilities.

 

Since Egyptian technicians lost touch two years ago with an observation satellite they hoped would help carry the country into the “space club,” the country has struggled to make progress in gaining intelligence satellite capabilities, but it remains committed to the program, a space security expert told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

Tal Dekel, a research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security, said few were aware of the extent of Egypt’s satellite program.

“People talk about the Iranians, but no one talks about Egypt’s program, which includes much more than a satellite,” he said.Cairo

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