Egyptian soldier killed in Rafah attack

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Egyptian soldier was killed on Monday during a militant attack on an army camp in Sinai.

Gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at Egyptian forces near Rafah, killing a soldier, Ma'an's correspondent said.

Militants attacked eight other army checkpoints in the el-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, injuring eight soldiers.

On Sunday, gunmen fired US-made ballistic shells at a security building in north Sinai, Egypt's Ministry of Interior said.

"Terrorists targeted the security directorate of north of Sinai from a lon distance," the ministry said. Security sources detained three suspects i Sinai, after clashing with two of them.

A police station in el-Arish was also targeted late Sunday by a bomb, with n injuries reported.

On Wednesday, militants shot dead an Egyptian soldier and wounde another south of el-Arish in Egypt's Sinai. Militants have conducted dai attacks on security forces in Sinai since the military overthrew Islamis President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

New Egyptian war: Americans lose, again

Source : islmaicinvitationturkey.con

Looking at the banners in the massive Egyptian protests last week, we saw many anti-American slogans. Likewise, the Muslim Brotherhood-led government that was deposed by the military last week was very critical of what it saw as U.S. support for the coup. Why is it that all sides in this Egyptian civil war seem so angry with the United States? Because the United States has at one point or another supported each side, which means also that at some point the U.S. has also opposed each side. It is the constant meddling in Egyptian affairs that has turned Egyptians against us, as we would resent foreign intervention in our own affairs.

For more than 30 years, since the U.S.-brokered Camp David Accord between Israel and Egypt, the U.S. supported Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Over that period the U.S. sent more than $60 billion to prop up Mubarak and, importantly, to train and seek control over the Egyptian military. Those who opposed Mubarak’s unelected reign became more and more resentful of the U.S., which they rightly saw as aiding and abetting a dictator and denying them their political aspirations.

Then the U.S. began providing assistance to groups seeking to overthrow Mubarak, which they did in 2011. The U.S. continued funding the Egyptian military at that time, arguing that U.S. aid was more critical than ever if we are to maintain influence. The U.S. Administration demanded an election in Egypt after Mubarak’s overthrow and an election was held. Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood won a narrow victory. The U.S. supported Morsi but kept funding the Egyptian military.

After a year of Morsi’s rule, Egyptians who did not approve of his government took to the streets to demand his removal from power. The U.S. signaled to the Egyptian military that it would not oppose the removal of Morsi from power, and he was removed on July 3rd. With the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government came the arrest of many politicians and the closure of many media outlets sympathetic to them. Then the U.S. government warned the same Egyptian military that undermined democracy that it needed to restore democracy! Is it any wonder why Egyptians from all walks of life are united in their irritation with the United States?

Despite the Egyptian government being overthrown by a military coup, the Obama Administration will not utter the word “coup” because acknowledging reality would mean an end to U.S. assistance to the Egyptian government and military. That cannot be allowed.

Instead, we see the same Obama administration that is on a worldwide manhunt for pro-transparency whistle-blower Edward Snowden demand that the Egyptian military exercise “political transparency” in its dealings with the ousted Muslim Brotherhood-led government.

So, successive U.S. administrations over the decades have supported all sides in Egypt, from dictator to demonstrator to military. There is only one side that the U.S. government has never supported: our side. The American side. It has never supported the side of the U.S. taxpayers who resent being forced to fund a foreign dictatorship, a foreign military, and foreign protestors. It has never supported the side of the majority of Americans who do not wish to get involved in the confusing internal affairs of countries thousands of miles away. It has never supported the side of those of us concerned about blowback, which is the real threat to our national security. Unfortunately, U.S. administrations continue to follow the same old failed policies and Obama is no different. More intervention, more foreign aid, more bullying, more empire

Egypt militants bomb gas pipeline to Jordan

Source : Al Akhbar English

Attackers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula bombed a gas pipeline to Jordan on Sunday, witnesses said, amid a surge in attacks on police and soldiers since Islamist president Mohammed Mursi's ouster.

Witnesses told AFP the blast took place near the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, scene of major disturbances since Mursi's overthrow by the military on Wednesday.

On Friday, armed Mursi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters, raising the black banner used by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants, an AFP correspondent reported.

A Jordanian government official confirmed that gas supplies to the energy-poor kingdom were cut.

"The gas supplies to Jordan stopped due to the attack," the official told state-run Petra news agency.

"The Egyptian authorities have informed us that they are currently evaluating the situation and the damage," he added without elaborating. Egyptian gas covers 80 percent of electricity generation in Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs.

But Sunday's bombing was the first reported in almost a year.

Five security officers were killed at their checkpoints in Sinai on Friday and four other checkpoints were attacked on Saturday.

A priest was killed at one checkpoint by a group of militants, according to security sources.

(AFP, Reuters)

Egypt's army announces state of emergency in South Sinai, Suez

Source : Xinhua

CAIRO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's military announced Friday state of emergency in South Sinai and Suez provinces after an earlier attack on Arish airport, state-run al-Ahram online reported.

Ahram quoted the commander of the third field army Osama Askar as saying that the "state of readiness" has been raised in highest level in both provinces.

"The Navy forces and the Air Forces have coordinated to secure the entrances and exits of the city, and checkpoints have been deployed on the international and local border axes, specially in South Sinai," added Askar.

Early Friday, hundreds of gunmen of Islamist extremist groups attacked Arish Airport, a security camp in Rafah, a police station and two security checkpoints in Sheikh Zewaid in North Sinai with heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenades, which killed a soldier and injured three others.

The attack came after the Egyptian army ousted Islamist- oriented President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday in response to millions of protesters across the country demanding his removal.

Islamist supporters described it as a "military coup" and vowed to struggle for Morsi's legitimacy.

Armed attacks on police and military premises and checkpoints prevailed in Sinai Peninsula due to lack of security following the mass protests that ousted ex-president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Egypt army closes Gaza border

Source : Maan News Agency

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Egyptian army on Friday closed the Rafah crossing on the Gaza border until further notice due to unrest in Sinai.

Egyptian military officials informed the Palestinian side of the closure, said Maher Abu Sabha, Palestinian director of crossings and borders.

Due to Israel's blockade, the Rafah crossing is the only exit for most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian director of the Rafah terminal, Sami al-Mitwali, said the crossing was closed due to security unrest.

An Egyptian soldier was killed early Friday in coordinated rocket and machinegun attacks by Islamist militants on army checkpoints and a police base in Sinai.

Militants also attacked a military intelligence building in Rafah, witnesses said.

Two other soldiers were wounded when Islamist militants fired on an army checkpoint near the north Sinai village of al-Gura. Elsewhere, militants attacked a police base with rockets, security sources said.

Some militants in Sinai had threatened a violent response after Egypt's army toppled Islamist President Mohammad Mursi on Wednesday.

Chief justice Adly Mansour, 67, was sworn in as interim president on Thursday until new elections, at a ceremony broadcast live from the Supreme Constitutional Court.

The Islamists accuse the military of conducting a brazen coup against Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected but controversial president, following massive protests calling for the Islamist's ouster.

Mursi's Musim Brotherhood movement has called for peaceful protests on Friday against the "coup," as police continue to hunt its leaders.

Egypt's military appealed for conciliation and warned against revenge attacks, as police rounded up senior Islamists.

The military said "exceptional and autocratic measures against any political group" should be avoided in a statement on its spokesman's Facebook page.

"The armed forces believe that the forgiving nature and manners of the Egyptian people, and the eternal values of Islam, do not allow us to turn to revenge and gloating," the army statement added.

Police arrested the Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohammed Badie "for inciting the killing of protesters", a security official told AFP.

Former supreme guide Mahdi Akef was also arrested, state television reported.

Mursi himself was "preventively detained" by the military, a senior officer had told AFP early Thursday, hours after his overthrow the night before, suggesting the ousted president might face trial.

1 soldier killed, 3 injured in armed attacks in Egypt's Sinai

Source : Xinhua

NORTH SINAI, Egypt, July 5 (Xinhua) -- At least one soldier was killed and three others injured in an armed attack by Islamist extremist groups in North Sinai, a security source in Sinai told Xinhua.

An exchange of fire between the extremists and the security forces is still going on, said the source.

The source added that hundreds of gunmen attacked Arish Airport, a security camp in Rafah, a police station and two security checkpoints in Sheikh Zewaid by heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenades in North Sinai that led to the killing of a soldier and injured three others.

The attacks came after the Egyptian army ousted Islamist-oriented president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday in response to millions of protesters who took to the streets and public squares across the country demanding his removal.

Islamist supporters of the ousted president rejected his ouster as "a military coup" and vowed to struggle for Morsi's legitimacy.

Armed attacks on police and military premises and checkpoints prevailed in Sinai Peninsula due to lack of security following the 2011 mass protests that ousted ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

World Calls for Swift Move in Egypt, Obama Orders Review of Financial Aid

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

UN leader Ban Ki-moon believed Egyptians have “legitimate concerns,” but is worried about the military’s ousting of Mursi, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“Egyptians in their protests have voiced deep frustrations and legitimate concerns. At the same time, military interference in the affairs of any state is of concern,” said deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

The UN secretary general “is following closely and with continuing concern the fast-moving developments in Egypt. He continues to stand with the aspirations of the Egyptian people,” said del Buey.

“An inclusive approach is essential to addressing the needs and concerns of all Egyptians. Preservation of fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and assembly, remain of vital importance,” said del Buey. He further stated that “it will be crucial to quickly reinforce civilian rule in accordance with principles of democracy.”

“The world is watching closely the next steps with the hope that Egyptians will remain on a peaceful course, overcome the deep difficulties they are facing today, and find the needed common ground to move forward in a transition for which so many fought so courageously,” said the spokesman. For his part, US President Barack Obama called for a swift return to elected civilian rule in Egypt, saying the United States was “deeply concerned” by the toppling of Mursi.

Obama also sent a signal to military leaders, ordering a review of the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual US aid to Egypt in light of the army’s move against Mursi. “I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible,” Obama said, just hours after Mursi’s ouster.

In Obama’s strongest statement to date on the mounting crisis in Egypt, he also urged the powerful army to refrain from any arbitrary arrests and to protect the rights of all Egyptians. Moving to the United Kingdom, British Foreign Secretary William Hague viewed that “the situation is clearly dangerous and we call on all sides to show restraint and avoid violence.” “The United Kingdom does not support military intervention as a way to resolve disputes in a democratic system,” Hague said in the statement. Despite its concerns about Wednesday’s dramatic events, Britain called on all parties to move forward and “show the leadership and vision needed to restore and renew Egypt’s democratic transition.”

“It is vital for them to respond to the strong desire of the Egyptian people for faster economic and political progress for their country,” stressed Hague. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris took note that elections had been announced in Egypt after the army ousted Mursi. “In a situation that has worsened seriously and with extreme tension in Egypt, new elections have finally been announced, after a transition period,” Fabius said in a statement. “France takes note of it.”

France hoped a timetable would be drawn up respecting “civil peace, pluralism, individual liberties and the achievements of the democratic transition, so that the Egyptian people can freely choose their leaders and their future,” he added. Similarly, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, condemned the bloodshed, and called for a swift return to democracy. “I urge all sides to rapidly return to the democratic process, including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution,” she said.

She hoped the transitional administration announced by the new regime would be fully inclusive and that human rights and the rule of law would be respected, she added. “I strongly condemn all violent acts… and urge the security forces to do everything in their power to protect the lives and well-being of Egyptian citizens,” said Ashton. But Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday praised the army’s intervention and congratulated the new caretaker president Mansour.

“We call on God to help you bear the responsibility to achieve the hopes of our brotherly people in Egypt,” the head of the Sunni-ruled oil powerhouse said in his message.

Fall of Egypt’s Mohammad Mursi Blow to Qatar

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

The British Financial Times posted an article Thursday explaining the effect of President Mohammad Mursi's ouster on the country's foreign policy, considering that Mursi's offset of Egypt's presidency a blow to Qatar, which bet on the Muslim Brotherhood all over the last year.

"Few predicted that challenge would come within a week as Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government fell, and the credibility of Qatar’s activist foreign policy took a major blow," it said.

The daily also revealed that Qatar has poured $8bn of financial support into Egypt in post-Mubarak era, and has been the main Gulf backer of Mursi’s government.

"Qatar's support for post-Mubarak Egypt has run to the heart of Doha’s backing of Islamist groups since the revolutions of the Arab uprising swept across north Africa," the FT article read.

"Its legacy will be associated with that of the leader whose presidency was doomed on Wednesday," it added.

The author stated in his article that the new emir of Qatar hinted at his tendency toward moderation in foreign policy, but analysts believe that any change in Qatar's foreign policy must be gradual.

"While Sheikh Tamim, the new emir, is hinting at a moderation of Qatar’s adventurist foreign policy, analysts say any change will be gradual as Doha’s position is so deeply set."

Unlike Qatar, the article said, the other Arab states in the Gulf such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are uncomfortable with the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and are now ready to pump funds to help any interim administration keep the Egyptian economy afloat.

Citing an economist, the auther noted that Qatar got it wrong in Libya, then in Syria, and now billions of dollars could go down the pan in Egypt.

“That money was meant to buy political advantage, but they backed the wrong horse,” the expert said,

Israel Agrees To More Egyptian Troops In Sinai

Source : International Middle East Media Center

Israeli daily, Yedioth Aharonoth have reported Tuesday [July 2 2013] that, despite the current massive protests in Egypt, and what it described as “chaos”, security coordination between the Israeli army and the Egyptian army is ongoing, and that Tel Aviv approved an Egyptian request for more Egyptian troops in Sinai.

Egyptian Protests - Arabs48

Israel Army said that the Egyptian operations against armed groups in Sinai are carried out in direct coordination with Tel Aviv, and added that the Israeli political leadership approved the Egyptian request due to what was described as “security threats to both Cairo and Tel Aviv”.

Yedioth Aharonoth said tha more Egyptian soldiers will be deployed along the border with Gaza, to prevent arms smuggling.

The Associated Press have reported that Egypt deployed dozens of armored vehicles in Sinai and border areas, and added that the operations carried out by the Egyptian army target what was described as “terrorist Islamists operating in the triangular border area (Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip).”

It also said that these operations are carried out in direct cooperation between senior Israeli and Egyptian military leaders.

Ex-candidate for president: Morsi’s regime will fall within week in Egypt

Source : Trend.Az

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's regime will fall within a week, ex-candidate for president Ahmed Shafiq said today, Almasrawy newspaper reported.

Shafiq, who was also Egyptian Prime Minister during President Hosni Mubarak's period, President Morsi made many fatal mistakes that brought the country to the economic and political crisis.

The command of the Egyptian armed forces has recently made a statement. It provided all political forces with 48 hours to meet the people's requirements. According to the statement, otherwise the country's armed forces intend to announce about an ''action map'' to overcome the crisis, which will be carried out under their supervision.

The Islamists in Egypt called "supporters of the law" to the street actions. Morsi's office said that Egypt is a civil country and the authorities will not allow plunging the country in the past.

The situation on the Egyptian domestic political scene escalated on June 30 after mass protests under the "TAMARROD" motto ("Mutiny") against the regime of President Morsi throughout the country.

US ready to evacuate Egypt embassy: Analyst

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

As tensions rise in Egypt over clashes between the supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi, the U.S. is prepared to evacuate its embassy in the capital Cairo, if the situation spirals out of control, Press TV reports.

Violence escalated in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday and three people, including a young American journalist, were killed.

“The death of an American is an indication that the situation in Egypt is increasingly getting out of control,” said Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon official, in an interview on Saturday.

“ [The fact that] U.S. Marines are on standby and ships are in the Red Sea would indicate that they are preparing more to evacuate the embassy in the event of total unrest and the inability of the Egyptian government to protect the embassy and the American personnel there,” he added.

Meanwhile, the United States is deploying about 400 troops to Egypt. The troops have been training for months at Fort Hood, Texas.

“I doubt that the U.S. has any further designs other than to use the Marines to protect the evacuation of U.S. personnel,” Maloof noted.

The U.S. State Department has warned Americans to put off unnecessary trips to Egypt and has allowed some diplomatic staff to leave the North African country.

President Barack Obama said in South Africa on Saturday that U.S.’s “immediate concern” was with protecting its embassy and consulates, and their staff.

An “unprecedented exodus” has been reported from Egypt. Officials say that all flights leaving for Europe, the U.S. and the Gulf are fully booked.

Egypt’s opposition groups have rejected Morsi’s recent invitation for national reconciliation and called for demonstrations on Sunday, the first anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration.

Six people, including a former MP from Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, have been killed in the renewed violence in Egypt this week.

Security: Gunmen kill Egypt policeman in Sinai ambush

Source : Maan News Agency

CAIRO (AFP) -- Gunmen shot and killed an Egyptian police officer during an ambush Saturday in the Sinai peninsula, a security source said, the second attack on police in the restive region this month.

"Colonel Mohammed Hani, a high-ranking officer, was killed by six bullets to the head when unknown gunmen opened fire on him with machine guns," the source said.

The gunmen were in a car that was used to ambush the officer in a street of the Sinai town of El-Arish, he said.

Another security source blamed the attack on Islamist militants and said it was the second one in month targeting the police in the Sinai.

Three weeks ago, armed men shot dead police officer Mohammed Abu Shaqra who served in th anti-terrorism squad at El-Arish.

A hive of militant activity, Egypt's Sinai peninsula is a major route for drugs smuggling and huma trafficking.

Ever since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011, throwing his feared security services int disarray, the region has grown even more restless and awash with weapons.

Attacks on police and soldiers, and abductions of tourists, in the sparsely populated peninsula hav surged since Mubarak's overthrow as have cross-border attacks on Israel.

In August 2012, suspected Islamist gunmen killed 16 Egyptian soldiers near Israel's border an commandeered an armoured vehicle into Israel, where they were stopped by a helicopter strike.

Bedouin activists who populate the Sinai have long complained of the government's neglect of th region, saying they have been treated as second-class citizens ever since Israel handed back th peninsula it had seized in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Security sources: Egypt's Sinai on high alert

Source : Maan News Agency

CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egypt has declared a state of alert in the Sinai after extremist Islamist fighters set up a military base in the peninsula, Egyptian security officials said Monday.

Egyptian forces and police have imposed curfews on Sinai cities el-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah. Military helicopters were seen hovering over the cities, a Ma'an reporter said.

Militants from Egypt, Palestine and Mali affiliated to Jihadist groups and al-Qaeda have deployed heavily in bunkers in a desert area in central Sinai, Egyptian security officials told Ma'an.

Around 30 "dangerous" militants affiliated to Jihadist and Takfiri groups entered Sinai through tunnels from the Gaza Strip to join the camp, the officials said.

The militants have large amounts of ammunition and weapons, suggesting they plan to join demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood planned for June 30, the security sources added.

Sinai clan chiefs have formed a popular committee in north Sinai to protect protect strategic facilities and public properties during the planned protests.

Abdul-Hamid Salami, chief of the al-Fawakhiriya clan in el-Arish, said Friday that clan dignitaries would hold an emergency meeting on Monday with army and police commanders to discuss ways to protect the peninsula against security chaos.

"We have learned a good lesson from the previous experience during the Jan. 25 revolution," Salami told Ma'an.

"We will sacrifice our souls to protect all security facilities in Sinai, and will not allow Palestinians to infiltrate through smuggling tunnels seeking to support a certain party at the expense of the Egyptian people.

"We hereby warn in advance that the people of Sinai will defy any external elements and prevent them by force from destroying Sinai or reaching Cairo."

Hagel meets Morsy in Egypt, addresses Syria chemical weapons

Source : Egypt Independent

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday the US effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a "serious business" that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion.

"Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another," Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that included talks about Syria and other regional issues.

"I think we have to be very careful here before we make any conclusions (and) draw any conclusions based on real intelligence. That's not at all questioning other nations' intelligence. But the United States relies on its own intelligence."

A statement from Egypt’s presidency Wednesday confirmed that President Mohamed Morsy met with Hagel and discussed the Syria conflict.

According to the statement, Morsy pointed to a consensus among regional and international parties on the importance of reaching a political settlement for the Syrian crisis in order to stop the bloodshed, prevent sectarian division, and maintain the unity of Syrian territory.

The United States has warned that any chemical weapons use by Syria, now convulsed by civil war, would cross a "red line" that would trigger some unspecified response.

Hagel rejected suggestions the United States was undermining its credibility by saying it was continuing to assess the issue, even as France, Britain and Israel have concluded evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria's conflict.

A top Israeli military intelligence officer said on Tuesday that evidence supported the conclusion Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons - probably sarin - several times against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

The officer's remarks came in the final moments of a three-day visit by Hagel to Israel.

Syria's information minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday that Damascus would not resort to chemical weapons against its own citizens or even in the event of war with its neighbor Israel.

Hagel, who had not previously commented on the Israeli report, said that while he had discussed the Syrian conflict and chemical weapons with Israeli leaders, he had not been given the findings cited by the intelligence officer.

"When I was in Israel they did not give me that assessment. I guess it wasn't complete so I haven't seen the specifics, haven't talked to any Israeli officials, nor have I talked to any of our intelligence officials specifically about it."

US defense officials said it wasn't immediately clear whether the intelligence report reflected the final conclusions of the Israeli government or simply the Israeli military.

Hagel declined to elaborate on his discussions about Syrian chemical weapons with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.

Asked whether the assessments by France, Britain and Israel put pressure on Washington to make a judgment more quickly, Hagel said, "I don't think you judge these kinds of serious matters based on a time line.

"This is serious business and you want to be as sure as you can be on these kind of things, and until I see our intelligence assessments and the results of those, I can't respond any further," he said.

The Syrian government and rebels each accused the other of launching a chemical attack near the embattled city of Aleppo last month.

Syrian authorities last year acknowledged having chemical and biological weapons and said they could be used if foreign countries intervened in the conflict, a threat that elicited strong warnings from Washington and its allies.

Hagel’s visit to Egypt also addressed the Israel-Palestine, with Morsy stressing during the meeting the need to reach a just and comprehensive settlement that took into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the meeting.

Second Mossad spy trapped in Rafah

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA) –Egypt State Supreme Security Prosecutiton has ordered the imprisonment of the second man accused of spying for the Zionist regime in Rafah.

Al-Youm Al-Sabe'a website reported that State Supreme Security head prosecutor, Hisham al- Qarmuti has ordered the imprisonment of another man for the charges of espionage for the apartheid regime for 15 days.

The prosecutor has finished the investigation on a second man, and has decided to lock him under heavy security in Torre prison.

According to the report, Egyptian security forces announced that they had dismantled a spy network, and arrested the ringleader. The investigation revealed that he had been in contact with Mossad agents by his mobile phone.

The report says, after the Egyptian security forces arrested the ringleader, took number of people in Rafah into custody and after interrogating them, released them.

New mob killing in Egypt's Sharqiya: Son of Brotherhood leader beaten to death

Source : Ahram Online

Scores of residents beat to death the son of a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm Friday in Zagazig city in Egypt's Nile Delta Sharqiya governorate, which has seen a significant number of mob killings recently.

Security sources told Ahram Online that hundreds of El- Qataweya village residents ransacked the house of Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) leader, Rabie Lasheen, in the early hours of Friday, setting his furniture and three cars on fire apart from killing his son. Revenge was their motive.

Lasheen's son, Youssef, was accused of shooting a 28-year-old man merely for insulting his father in a Facebook post for his affiliation with the FJP. An auto rickshaw (tok tok) driver in his 40s was accidentally gunned down too.

The revengeful mob, including members of both men's families, dragged Lasheen's son to the street and used bladed weapons while assaulted him, according to Al-Ahram's daily correspondent. The assistants then left him for dead in the street.

Youssef was taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to the fatal injuries.

The police forces were completely absent from the scene until dawn on Friday, where only two policemen were dispatched to Lasheen's house after the end of the melee, according to Al-Ahram's correspondent.

Mob killings have been recurrent in villages and rural areas across Egypt, thanks to a security vacuum seen after Egypt's 2011 uprising.

The Sharqiya governorate is considered to be the most plagued with brutal unofficial executions.

Protests in Egypt Denounce Qatar Interference

Source :  http://www.almanar.com.lb

Demonstrators in Egypt have burned Qatari and Israeli flags in protest against what they described as the Gulf state’s interference in their country’s internal affairs.

Protesters gathered outside the Qatari Embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and chanted anti-Doha slogans.

Demonstrators believe that Doha and Tel Aviv are meddling in Egypt’s domestic affairs after the 2011 revolution that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

On January 10, Doha said it had offered Egypt a lifeline of $.5-billion to help the North African country tackle its currency crisis.

“There was an initial package of $2.5 billion, of which $0.5 billion was a grant and two billion dollars a deposit,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said in reference to the financial aid Qatar has provided Egypt with since the revolution.

“We discussed transferring one of the deposits into an additional grant so that the grants became one billion dollars and the deposits doubled to around four billion dollars,” he added.

The Egyptians have also held several massive protests across the country since the revolution, calling on the government to sever all the existing ties with the Zionist entity

Israel’s Iron Dome Fails to Intercept Eilat Rockets

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

The Zionist entity’s vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system failed to intercept at least two rockets fired from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The two rockets hit the occupied Red Sea resort town of Eilat early on Wednesday with no casualties reported.

Israeli military sources said the vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system, which was recently deployed around Eilat, did not engage to intercept the rockets.

"We've found two explosion sites in the city, we've also closed off the airport as a precaution," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP, saying one landed in "an open area close to one of the neighborhoods."

He said the sirens had sounded but that there were no initial reports of casualties. "Bomb disposal experts are searching the area," Rosenfeld said. The military spokesman said both rockets had struck open areas.

"There were two rockets fired from Sinai, both landed in open spaces," he said. Later on, Israeli website, Haaretz, reported that the airport in Eilat reopened.

Egypt denied that rockets were fired from its territories, with senior military official said troops were "investigating" the incident.

Hours later, a Salafi group called the Mujahedeen Shura Council posted a statement online saying its militants had "managed to target occupied Eilat with two Grad rockets" without saying where they were fired from.

Source: AFP

Hamas accuses Israel of reducing Gaza fishermen's work space

Source : http://www.globaltimes.com

Hamas on Friday accused Israel of violating an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire by restoring restrictions on Gaza fishermen's work space.

The Israeli decision to reduce the fishing space to three nautical miles coincides with the closure of the only commercial crossing point for Gaza Thursday in response to rockets fired from Gaza on Israeli targets, which left no injuries.

"This is a clear violation of the ceasefire and we blame the Israeli occupation on any consequences of this decision," Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson of the Islamic movement, told Xinhua.

Abu Zuhri called on Egypt, in its capacity as the sponsor of the truce, "to follow up" with Israel and "shoulder its responsibility regarding this violation," stressing that the Palestinian factions will stay committed to the truce.

The agreement reached last November, which ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Hamas militants and Israel, requires Israel to increase the fishing space to six nautical miles, adding more facilities at the crossing point and canceling a 300-meter- wide buffer zone along its borders with Gaza.

An Al-Qaida-linked group, which has often challenged Hamas' rule in Gaza, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets into Sderot on Thursday, the second of their kind since the ceasefire.

The Israeli army said Thursday that one of the rockets hit the yard of a house in the southern town of Sderot, another landed in an open area in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, and two others fell short inside Gaza.

The rockets firing came as US President Barack Obama was visiting Israel and the West Bank.

Last month, Israel said Palestinian militants fired a Grad rocket into the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.

On the other hand, the Israeli army have killed four Palestinians and wounded dozens in separate incidents since the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took effect.

Egypt raises alert level in Sinai over jihadist fears

Source : REUTERS

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Interior Ministry told police in the Sinai peninsula to raise a state of emergency after obtaining intelligence that jihadists might attack their forces there, state news agency MENA reported.

Officials have expressed growing worries about security in the desert region which borders Israel and is home to a number of tourist resorts.

"The Minister of Interior has raised the level of emergency in North and South Sinai after receiving information that jihadist groups intend to attack police buildings there," Interior Ministry official General Osama Ismail said, according to MENA.

In August last year Islamist militant gunmen killed at least 15 Egyptian policemen in an assault on a police station at the border between Egypt and Israel, before seizing two military vehicles and attempting to storm the border.

It was the deadliest incident in Egypt's tense Sinai border region in decades. Israel has accused Palestinian militants in Gaza of involvement in militant activity in Sinai, where insecurity has grown since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in Egypt's 2011 revolution.

President Mohamed Musri has pledged to get a grip on security in Egypt but struggled to assert control over an entrenched security establishment. Last week thousands of riot police and conscripts across the country went on strike over a variety of grievances.

(Reporting by Marwa Awad, Writing by Sylvia Westall, Editing by David Stamp)