Egyptian Man Arrested for Loving Israel on Facebook

Egyptian Man Arrested for Loving Israel

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Egyptian security forces over the weekend arrested a young Egyptian man for daring to publicly profess his love for Israel and seeking to visit the Jewish state.

A resident of the Sohag Governorate in southern Egypt, the 24-year-old man came to the attention of police officials after “declaring his love” for Israel on Facebook and personally communicating with several Israelis via the social media website.

According to Egyptian media reports, the young man has a Star of David tattoo on his arm, pictures of Israeli army generals and the Israeli flag in his computer, and keeps a Hebrew dictionary in his home.

He was also allegedly in possession of $100 USD in cash and four national ID cards all listing different occupations.

The young man is said to have admitted to personal contact with Israeli tourists while previously working as a taxi driver in the Sinai Peninsula, and to attempting to obtain a visa to enter Israel earlier last year.

Israel and Egypt have a peace treaty that is supposed to encourage tourism between the two countries. While many Israelis visit Egypt every year, there is very little reciprocal flow.

As far as anyone knows, it is not illegal for Egyptians to be supportive of Israel and visit the Jewish state, but such behavior is certainly taboo in Egyptian society.

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Israel, Egypt Partnering to Topple Hamas - Breaking Israel News

Israel, Egypt Partnering to Topple Hamas

Posted by: Ahuva Balofsky January 21, 2014  Breaking Israel News

“Will two walk together, except they have agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

An Egyptian air force F-16 Fighting Falcon. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Amy Abbott/ U.S. Air Force)

Following the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the 1979 Camp David Peace Accords, Egypt was forbidden from deploying forces in the region closest to the Israeli border.  The Times of Israel reports that recently, Israel has been allowing the Egyptian army to expand its presence there in an effort to curb the activities of Hamas in Gaza.

IDF forces uncovered an eight-meter-deep tunnel, south of Rafah and near the Israeli-Egyptian border that is used to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip. (Photo: IDF)

An Israeli official spoke to the news site on condition of anonymity, as official relations between Israel and Egypt are strained.  “Cooperation is growing tighter on the intelligence and operational level — in fact, on all military levels,” he said.  “Both countries want to crush Hamas, but we need to be smart about it.”

Israel is permitting Egyptian Apache helicopters, already active in the area, to circle the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to intimidate the ruling party.

The Reuters news agency reported last week that Egypt was stepping up its efforts to undermine Hamas, which it sees as a threat to its national security.  According to the report, four high-level Egyptian officials identified Hamas as Cairo’s next priority after subduing the Muslim Brotherhood.  Hamas is an offshoot of that organization.  The officials detailed some of the actions being taken against Hamas, including working with rival Fatah party and supporting popular anti-Hamas activity in the Gaza Strip.  In early January, Cairo hosted a conference for a new anti-Hamas youth movement based in Gaza, called Tamarud, or “rebel”.

Egypt underwent its own turmoil last year when the democratically-elected president Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the military.  Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supported Hamas through his actions during his presidency.  He was deposed when millions in Egypt took to the streets last July, demanding that he step down.  He is now to be tried on a number of charges, ranging from mocking the judiciary to incitement to kill protesters.  Since the military took over, the frosty, albeit peaceful, relationship between Israel and Egypt has been quietly improving.

“Since July, there’s more willingness to speak to us. The tone has changed,” the Israeli official said.

The 1979 Peace Accords included a military appendix, prohibiting Egypt from sending forces into the area of the Sinai Peninsula closest to Israel.  However, in 2005,  then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authorized the deployment of 750 Egyptian troops to patrol the border with Gaza, following Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.  Today, amendments made to the appendix and renewed every month allow both ground and air forces from Egypt to fight Islamist forces in the northeastern Sinai region. “In practice, the military appendix is nonexistent,” the official said. Currently, ten Egyptian brigades are active in Sinai.

About the Author

Ahuva Balofsky grew up in Toronto, Canada and obtained her B.A. Hons. and B.Ed. at York University. She taught Tanach, Rabbinics and English at the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto. After making Aliyah in 2004 with her family, she completed a Master's degree in Tanach at Bar Ilan University, and currently teaches Bible studies and English.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/israel-egypt-partnering-topple-hamas/#l9od8GodW27tQr1U.99

Egyptian army kills dozens of Hamas gunmen

Thursday, July 11, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

The Egyptian army's new offensive against terror organizations operating in the Sinai Peninsula is well under way, and one of the groups paying a heavy price is Hamas.

Many expected Hamas to suffer as a result of the recent ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent organization of Hamas.

Over the past several days, Egyptian military officials told Arab media that some 200 gunmen had been killed during battles in Sinai, including at least 32 members of Hamas. The Palestinian group uses the peninsula to smuggle arms and other goods into the Gaza Strip, from where it wages war on southern Israel.

However, the situation remains volatile, and the Egyptian army has asked Israel for a green light to increase its forces in the Sinai. Under the terms of the Camp David Accords, Egypt is permitted to maintain only a very small force in Sinai so as to not threaten Israel's southern border.

Israel is expected to respond positively to the request, as it considers today's Egyptian military leadership to be a partner in the fight against radical Islamists.

There were hints that the Egyptian army could even strike Gaza itself. One official told an Arab newspaper that the Egyptian army had been frustrated by Hamas fighters who use tunnels running under the border to quickly attack Egyptian forces and then retreat to the safety of Gaza.