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| Africa North |
| With Muslim Brotherhood Crushed, Egypt Sets Sights On Hamas |
| 2014-01-16 |
| [Ynet] Egyptian official says his country 'cannot get liberated from the terrorism of the Brotherhood in Egypt without ending it in Gazoo'. After crushing the Moslem Brüderbund at home, Egypt's military rulers plan to undermine the Paleostinian Death Eater group Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which runs the neighbouring Gazoo Strip, senior Egyptian security officials told said. The aim, which the officials say could take years to pull off, includes working with Hamas's political rivals Fatah and supporting popular anti-Hamas activities in Gazoo, four security and diplomatic officials said. Since it seized power in Egypt last summer, Egypt's military has squeezed Gazoo's economy by destroying most of the 1,200 tunnels used to smuggle food, cars and weapons to the coastal enclave. Now Cairo is becoming even more ambitious in its drive to eradicate what it says are Death Eater organizations that threaten its national security. Intelligence operatives, with help from Hamas's political rivals and activists, plan to undermine the credibility of Hamas, which seized control of Gazoo in 2007 and ousted rivals Fatah, headed by Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... According to the Egyptian officials, Hamas will face growing resistance by activists who will launch protests similar to those in Egypt that led to the downfall of two presidents since the Arab Spring in 2011. Cairo plans to support such protests in an effort to cripple Hamas. "Gazoo is next," said one security bigshot, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "We cannot get liberated from the terrorism of the Brotherhood in Egypt without ending it in Gazoo, which lies on our borders." Asked why Egyptian intelligence is not going after Hamas now, another security bigshot said: "Their day will come." Egypt accuses Hamas of backing al-Qaeda-linked Death Eater groups which have stepped up attacks against security forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over the past few months. The attacks have spread to Cairo and other cities. Both the Moslem Brüderbund and Hamas deny accusations of terrorism, and the Brotherhood says it is committed to peaceful activism. The group was ousted from power in Egypt after the military threw its weight behind street protests last summer. Freely elected president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Timeprinciple, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... is now on trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters during his presidency. Egypt's military-backed government has cracked down hard on the Brotherhood, arresting almost its entire leadership and thousands of its backers as well as formally declaring it a terrorist organization. But the situation is very different in Gazoo, where Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood, is heavily armed, has years of experience fighting Israel, and moves swiftly to squash dissent. A Hamas official said the comments made to Rooters by Egyptian officials showed Cairo was inciting violence and trying to provoke chaos. "We reaffirm that Hamas did not and never would intervene in the internal Egyptian affairs," Hamas front man Sami Abu Zuhri ...a senior spokesman for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest... told Rooters. "No one should ever dream to weaken Hamas." So far, contacts between Egypt and Fatah have been limited to discussing ways to help Fatah undermine Hamas, said the officials. They declined to name Paleostinians involved in those discussions or give details of how many meetings have been held. Hamas keeps Fatah party officials under very close watch in Gazoo. A senior Fatah official in the West Bank, where the party is far more powerful, denied any plot to oust Hamas. "There is a lot of anger in Gazoo. People are suffering, but protest is not easy. We cannot hope that Hamas will vanish tomorrow," he said. Hamas has an estimated 20,000 fighters, with another 20,000 in its police and security forces. Despite growing economic hardship in Gazoo, the group can still draw on significant support from among the territory's 1.8 million people. But Egyptian officials hope to exploit tensions with rival Death Eater groups, even if there are no signs of major splits yet. "We know that Hamas is powerful and armed but we also know that there are other gangs in Gazoo that are not on good terms with Hamas and they could be used to face Hamas," another Egyptian security source said. "All people want is to eat, drink and have a decent living, and if a government, armed or not, fails to provide that, then the people will rise against it in the end," the source said. 'First spark' In early January, Cairo publicly hosted the first conference of a new anti-Hamas youth group called Tamarud, or rebel, the same name used by the Egyptian youth movement that led last year's protests against Mursi. Members of the Paleostinian Tamarud stood with the Paleostinian flag wrapped around their necks to highlight what they called Hamas' crimes against activists in Gazoo. The event was attended by representatives from Egyptian liberal parties and Fatah. "We support the movement and any peaceful movement against the cruelty of the Islamist group that is part of the terrorist Moslem Brüderbund organization," said Ayman al-Raqb, a Fatah official in Cairo in his speech at the conference. The activists showed video clips of masked gunnies chasing and dragging away protesters, and posted banners showing activists who they said had been tortured by Hamas for their opposition. The Gazoo-based Paleostinian Center for Human Rights last year accused Hamas of orchestrating a fierce crackdown against activists suspected of trying to organise a Tamarud-like protest in November. It said some of those detained were tortured and the mooted rally never materialised. Hamas has accused Tamarud members of being Israeli agents, but has denied allegations of torture. Activists in Cairo have called for protests in Gazoo on March 21. Egyptian officials hope that future Hamas crackdowns may turn the tide against the movement's leadership. "Surely, the world will not stand still and allow Hamas to kill Paleostinians. Someone will interfere," said the Egyptian security official. "But so far we are only working on firing the first spark." But officials also concede that the plan is likely to take years. "The aid Egypt will mainly provide to the anti-Hamas groups will be logistical not financial. Tamaruds don't cost much," one Egyptian security official said. Tunnels The plan to undermine Hamas reflects renewed confidence among Egypt's security forces after being sidelined following the fall of long-time president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011. Senior security officials are now determined to eliminate their Islamist foes for good - inside and outside Egypt. They were angry when Mosi became the first Egyptian president to meet Hamas leaders in the presidential palace. Morsi also sent his prime minister to Gazoo on the second day of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense there in November 2012. Many Egyptians believe the Brotherhood intended to give part of the Sinai to Hamas. The Brotherhood has consistently denied the allegation. Morsi's administration did acknowledge the problem posed by the tunnels under the border between Egypt and Gazoo. His national security adviser last year said the government was flooding a number of tunnels he described as illegal. But the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gazoo was kept open for much of Morsi's rule, allowing vital food and goods to flow into Gazoo. After Morsi's overthrow, the army took over command of the Sinai and started destroying hundreds of tunnels. No Hamas official has been allowed to travel into Egypt since then. Last month, Egypt's public prosecutor accused Hamas of conspiring with Morsi and Iran to stage terrorist attacks in Egypt. "We know Hamas is the Brotherhood and the Brotherhood (members) are snuffies and no country could develop with snuffies in or around it," the security official said. Gazoo prime minister and Hamas deputy leader Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... has said repeatedly since July that his group is focused exclusively on confronting Israel and has no armed presence in Egypt. "We do not intervene in Egyptian internal affairs," he told supporters last month. "Egypt cannot do without us and we cannot do without Egypt. This historical, geographic and security link can never be severed." But an Egyptian security official, who declined to be named, dismissed his words. "They (Hamas leaders) can say what they want on their role in Sinai. We don't base our judgment on them, but on intelligence and information." |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 And Israel should allow Egypt to conduct operations in Gazoo. Maybe even exchange intelligence. After all Hamas is MB in Gaza. Egypt could clean up with a lot less condemnation than the Jooos. Would be a great plan to come together. |
| Posted by: mossomo 2014-01-16 22:13 |
| #1 The West should be fully supporting Egypt's army. |
| Posted by: Paul D 2014-01-16 07:14 |