Tag Archive for Egypt

| March 21, 2012
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‘Real relief for Gaza energy crisis within 5 months’

Egypt envoy to Palestinian territories downplays tensions between Hamas, Cairo, says “our relations are strong.”

 

Egyptian Ambassador to the Palestinian territories Yasser Othman said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip will be connected to Egypt’s power grid within four to five months in a development that will alleviate an energy crisis that has plagued the Strip for the last three months.

Speaking with Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Sharq, Othman said that Egypt and Gaza would begin work on connecting their power grids within the next few weeks.

“This will lead to a real relief for the deepening crisis in the Gaza Strip,” Othman said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 21, 2012
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Israeli Ambassador Quits Egypt Over Gaza

Israel’s ambassador to Egypt has quit Cairo six months after the embassy was attacked by paid rioters, expelled by Islamists over Gaza.

Israel’s ambassador to Egypt has quit Cairo, six months after the embassy was attacked by paid rioters and ransacked in the Egyptian capital.

Officials at the Egyptian airport said Wednesday that two IDF aircraft departed Cairo before dawn, carrying all of the equipment and documents that had been in the embassy.

Emblem of the State of Israel

Emblem of the State of Israel

During the September 2011 attack, Egyptian leaders did not respond to Israeli requests for assistance until the United States stepped in with a personal phone call from President Barack Obama, pointedly asking its military to intervene. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 19, 2012
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Israeli official: Iranian military experts operating in Gaza, Sinai

Iran pressured Islamic Jihad and popular resistance groups in Gaza to continue firing rockets into Israel despite cease-fire, says high-ranking Jerusalem official.

Iranian military experts are active in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai, according to a high-ranking official in Jerusalem. The official said the Iranians entered the areas via Sudan and Egypt, and added that some of the rocket-launching systems in Gaza were manufactured under Iranian supervision.

The senior source also claimed that Islamic Jihad continued to fire rockets at Israel even after the recent cease-fire was announced because the Iranians pressured that organization, and the popular resistance groups, to continue acting against Israel.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 17, 2012
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‘Clinton may decide on Egypt aid next week’

State Dept. says decision forthcoming on military aid; progress on transition to civilian government is key.

67th United States Secretary of State

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could decide next week whether to resume US military aid to Egypt, which has been embroiled in a dispute with the United States over democratic freedoms, the US State Department said on Friday.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Clinton has not yet made any decisions despite a New York Times report that said the Obama administration planned to resume the assistance.

Congress has already approved $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt for the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept.

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| March 16, 2012
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Egypt plans oil, gas exploration near border with Israel

Cairo says will explore oil, gas sites near maritime border with Israel in effort to ‘stake its hold on the area’

A source at the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said Wednesday that Egypt plans to auction exploration sites for oil and gas near its maritime border with Israel.

Fisherman protesting over Gaza sea blockade Photo: AFP

Fisherman protesting over Gaza sea blockade - Photo: AFP

The source noted that this will be the first time Egypt has auctioned exploration sites in the area.

The source further said that the oil and gas exploration will be held in accordance with the maritime borders set by the Egyptian government which are based on the international Maritime Law adopted by the UN in 1983. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 16, 2012
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Islamic Jihad remains committed to ceasefire with Israel, leader says

Ahmad al-Mudallal, head of organization’s political wing, says it agreed to ceasefire after Egyptian mediators promised Israel would cease assassinations of its militants.

The Islamic Jihad will continue to respect the ceasefire with Israel, but will retaliate if Israel strikes first, a senior figure in the organization’s political wing told Palestinian news agency Ma’an on Thursday.

Gaza extinguisher - AP - 16.3.12

A Palestinian tries to extinguish a fire after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 10, 2012. - Photo by: AP

The official, Ahmad al-Mudallal, was referring to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza which has been in effect since early Tuesday morning.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 15, 2012
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IDF thwarts attempt to infiltrate Israel from Egypt

1 killed in exchange of fire after group of suspected smugglers seen trying to enter Israel; IDF, Egyptian forces open fire on group.

IDF soldier - Illustrative

IDF soldier - Illustrative

 

The IDF thwarted an attempt to infiltrate Israel from Egypt on Thursday night. One Bedouin was killed and three others were injured in the exchange of fire.

 

 

IDF soldiers in desert exercise - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

IDF soldiers in desert exercise - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

The IDF observed a group of suspects trying to enter Israel and ordered them to stop. When the group refused to do so, the IDF opened fire in their direction, in line with standard procedure.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 13, 2012
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Iran lauds Egypt house vote to expel Israel envoy

Islamist-dominated lower parliament says Cairo will “never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity.”

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

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

Iran on Tuesday applauded the Egyptian parliament’s demand a day earlier that Cairo expel Israel’s ambassador over Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

“Egypt will never be the friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity which we consider as the first enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation,” said the statement from Egypt’s lower house of parliament, which called on the Egyptian government to “revise all its relations and agreements with that enemy.”

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| March 12, 2012
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This round will likely go to Israel

If there are fewer launches Monday, Israel will likely reduce its attacks, and this round of hostilities will wind down by midweek.

 

Fewer rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, but the fact that Katyushas did nonetheless fall in Be’er Sheva spurred tough talk from Israel, which threatened to continue attacking the Gaza Strip.

Still, if there are fewer launches Monday, Israel will likely reduce its attacks, and this round of hostilities will wind down by midweek, much as last year’s periodic flare-ups did.

This optimistic assessment comes with two strong caveats: One, this is all true so long as there are no Israeli deaths; and two, the Islamic Jihad’s rising frustration at its inability to achieve much may lead it to take the extreme – almost suicidal – step of firing rockets at the Tel Aviv area.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| March 10, 2012
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Report: Hamas leaders head to Cairo

Arab media outlets say delegation of senior Hamas members arrive in Egypt in order to discuss escalation between Palestinians, Israel

 

Arab media reported Saturday that a delegation of Hamas leaders headed by Mahmoud al-Zahar, have left the Gaza Strip for Cairo in order to discuss the escalation in violence between the Palestinians and Israel, and the energy crisis in the Strip.

According to the reports, the delegation also includes other top Hamas officials.

The latest round of violence, which began on Friday after the assassination of Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) commander Zuhir al-Qaisi, has resulted in the deaths of 15 Palestinian terrorists and more than 100 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

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| March 6, 2012
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In Egypt, Honor killings defy attempts at reform

Two murders in Egypt point to persistence of practice that crosses class, religion

Honor killings defy attempts at reform

By Reuters/Mohammed Salem

Sarah, a 23-year-old university graduate from Aswan, recalls the day she heard that her cousin had been killed. “I was at university here in Cairo when my mother called me last summer.” It was months later, but Sarah had rarely spoken about it and tears welled up even as she tried to gather her thoughts and recollections.

“My mom told me that my cousin, who I had grown up with and had played with all the time, had been killed,” she continues. But how and under what circumstances her mother wouldn’t say. Continue Reading »

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| March 4, 2012
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Hamas Slams Cairo Over Power Crisis

Ismail Haniyeh accused Egypt of prolonging Gaza’s power crisis as Hamas refuses to pay market rates or let the PA tax incoming fuel. 

Ismail Haniyeh blamed Egypt on Friday for causing a power crisis that has triggered lengthy blackouts in Hamas-run Gaza.

The outages started in mid-February, leaving households with just six hours of electricity a day, and provoking widespread criticism of Hamas in the coastal enclave.

Hamas has arrested its most vocal local critics amid the power crisis for fomenting division and “threatening the security of the authority.”

Looking to deflect the anger, Haniyeh told supporters Egypt controlled the flow of fuel into Gaza, and insinuated Cairo should have done more to help following the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak. Continue Reading »

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| March 3, 2012
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Egypt: Christians, Actors Targeted as Islam Rises

Actresses, comedians and Christians among the targets of a new rash of accusations of “insult to Islam” in Muslim Brotherhood Egypt.

As Islamist parties gain power in Egypt, the country has seen a wave of lawsuits accusing various figures of “insulting Islam.” In the latest case, a group of lawyers belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood have accused high-profile Egyptian women of provocative behavior.

The lawyers argue that the women “encourage sexuality and other inappropriate behaviors.” The Egyptian paper Al-Bawaba named two of the targets as actresses Ghada Abd al-Raziq and Summaya al-Khashab.

The same lawyers previously accused renowned comic actor Adel Imam of insulting Islam. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 2, 2012
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Hamas Diverts Blame of Gaza Power Crisis on Egypt in Rare Rift

Hamas criticizes Egypt for blocking oil supplies; fuel crisis has caused lengthy electricity blackouts.

Palestinian sits in Egypt-Gaza smuggling tunnel

Palestinian sits in Egypt-Gaza smuggling tunnel - Photo By REUTERS

 

GAZA – Gaza’s top political leader blamed Egypt on Friday for causing a power crisis that has triggered lengthy blackouts in the Palestinian enclave, laying bare tensions between his Islamist group Hamas and Cairo.

The outages started in mid February, leaving households with just six hours of electricity a day, provoking widespread criticism within the territory of Hamas, which governs Gaza.

Looking to deflect the anger, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told supporters that Egypt controlled the flow of fuel into Gaza and suggested the authorities in Cairo should have done more to help following the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak.”Is

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