Tag: Egypt

Cease-fire complexity

by atharris, posted in Israel/Hamas conflict, Middle East

The ongoing attempts for a ceasefire of the Israeli/Hamas conflict is complex and includes multiple countries and parties. They include the US, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Mahmoud Abbas from the West Bank and Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal from the Gaza Strip. Israel and the US have previously stated they only recognize Egypt as a legitimate cease-fire broker.

 

Hamas rejected Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s call for a cease-fire amid concerns that an agreement won’t be reached before other parties are drawn into its conflict with Israel

 

Wednesday’s speech by the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, in Qatar, did not constitute good news. One way or another Mashaal made clear that the fighting is likely to continue for a considerable time. The stance he presented, which is accepted by all wings of Hamas — military and political, in Gaza and overseas — is that there will be no ceasefire without the full lifting of the blockade on the Strip.

The blockade mentioned by Mashaal is the Rafah border crossing between Israel and the Sinai Peninsula, currently guarded by the Egyptian army.  It is the main route in which Hamas can continue to receive arms and men to ensure survival.

Mashaal made one more interesting point that relates to the US. He claimed that Secretary of State John Kerry called his friends in Qatar and Turkey at the start of the conflict and asked them to broker a ceasefire. If this is true, it’s nothing less than a scandal because it would mean Kerry had cut out the ground from beneath the Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

 

While Khaled Meshal haggles with ceasefire brokers in Qatar, his agents are known to have appealed urgently to Tehran to find the weapons they need and deliver them at top speed to the Gaza Strip – possibly from Libya by the Iranian-terrorists’ arms smuggling route through Egypt.

For now, Egypt is still protecting Israel’s southern border.

  Egypt: Army shoots suicide bomber near Gaza border

The Ma’an news agency quoted an Egyptian army source to the effect that the attacker carried an explosive device and was shot after he attempted to cross the border with Israel south of Rafah.

The source claimed that the Egyptian army had also destroyed a vehicle loaded with Grad missiles in Sheikh Zuweid in the North Sinai district, killing at least two operatives inside.

The Egyptian army said that it had thwarted a total of two missile attacks against Israel since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8.

 

 

 

 

Turkey vows to Gobble

by atharris, posted in Middle East

The tone out of Turkey has increasingly become more critical in the face of the Israeli/Hamas conflict.

Turkish leaders have strongly condemned an Israeli ground operation into Gaza that has killed scores of civilians, declaring the Israeli administration a “threat to international peace.”

While President Abdullah Gül warned Israel that its military actions could have dangerous repercussions in the region…. Gül and Erdoğan met with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the developments in the wake of Israeli aggression.

“Particularly, this noncompliant aggression of Israel is spreading the seeds of hate throughout the whole world, not just in Palestine,” Gül said July 16, “Israeli attacks have come to a very dangerous phase. I want to warnIsrael once more. If they do not stop, the outcome will be massive.”
Gül has urged Israel to end its military operations in the Gaza Strip, warning against “massive consequences,” and called on the U.N. Security Council to make a “cogent decision to end the Israeli offensive.”
Erdoğan’s reaction against Israel was much blunter…….“Israel is a country threatening the world’s peace. It’s a country that threatens the Middle East peace.

He also blamed the United States, Russia and other world powers for being passive in condemning Israel’s actions.

Turkey has even criticized the Muslim countries.

The prime minister also lashed out at the Islamic world. “When the West remains silent, the Islamic world watches too,” he said, calling on all sides to be moderate on Palestine. “We demand an immediate stop to the bloodshed . . . We are very much aware the Middle East deserves peace, prosperity, and solidarity,” he said.

“What happens in Palestine is not Shiite vs. Sunnis; that is why the Islamic world keeps silent. Our children and brothers are dying in Palestine. Humanity has been destroyed there, as well as the honor of Muslims,” he told the audience at Dolmabahçe Palace.

“Some Islamic countries are content with what is happening in Palestine today. If that is not the case, they will find themselves involved in the matter,” he said.

The political complexity continues to grow.

Both Gül and Erdoğan refuted claims made by Israel and Egypt that Turkey prevented a truce between Hamas andIsrael with Gül calling these assertions “ridiculous and remorseless.” Erdoğan also criticized the Egyptian leadership, saying, “[President Abdel Fattah] el-Sisi is himself cruel.”

Both Gül and Erdoğan held talks with Abbas, who paid a short visit to Turkey on July 18. Abbas informed the Turkish leaders about the developments in Gaza and exchanged views about how a cease-fire could be reached. Abbas said Israel’s objective was to try to nix the efforts of Hamas and Fatah to form unity in Palestine. “We count Turkey as our fundamental partner in our Palestine cause,” he said.

As the official mediator, Egypt is changing its’ stance on Hamas.

Egypt’s position regarding the management of the Gaza crisis has quickly changed, whereby it endeavored to reopen channels of communication with Hamas and bring Hamas back into the fold. This is the first such attempt since the Muslim Brotherhood’s administration was ousted and former President Mohammed Morsi removed. It also came at a time when Hamas rejected the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which coincided with the announcement of a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to Turkey.

There is too much to post in this article, so for more information, it can be located below.

The US says, “Ambassador Shapiro: For US, Egypt is sole mediator in Gaza crisis”.
Meanwhile Iran has been given more time to produce a nuclear weapon…..
Nuclear talks deadline extended to November
The six world powers and Iran have agreed to a four-month extension of negotiations on a final nuclear deal with Tehran after failing to meet a July 20 deadline due to “significant gaps” between the two sides. The US has agreed to unblock $2.8bn in frozen Iranian funds, in return for Iran “converting 20% of its enriched uranium stocks into fuel.”