Islam Times - Latest News Egypt

Ministry of Interior in Gaza Strip spokesman Iyad al-Bizm told Ma'an that Egyptian authorities had stopped the influx of people trying to leave the blockaded Palestinian territory through the Rafah crossing, while keeping it open for people entering Gaza. The Palestinian official said that 3,099 people left Gaza during the five-day opening, including 546 Egyptian passport holders. Al-Bizm said that the humanitarian crisis was worsening in Gaza, and called on Egypt to extend the opening of the crossing. The short reprieve from heavy border restrictions comes as Israel's military blockade of the Gaza Strip approaches nearly a decade. Gaza's 1.8 million residents continue to struggle to meet their basic needs due to severe constraints on goods coming in and out. While the Egyptian border has remained the main lifeline for Gazans to the outside world, Egyptian authorities have slowly sealed off movement through the border since democratically-elected president Muhammad Morsi was toppled by the Egyptian army in 2013. Due to the constraints on Palestinian movement through the crossing, many are commonly barred from leaving or entering the Gaza Strip, some for months at a time, as the crossing is only periodically opened by Egyptian authorities, stranding Palestinians on both sides of the crossing during closures. In 2015, the Rafah crossing was closed for 344 days. The crossing has been reopened on a more regular basis in 2016. Most recently, the Egyptian government opened the Rafah crossing for four days during the first week of June ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which time more than 3,000 people left the Gaza Strip.

The ministry slammed Israel’s continuous building of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory -- in contravention of international law -- and obstruction of the peace process. The Egyptian government urged the Israeli government to “cancel the decision and put an end to the policy of escalation, which kills the hopes of Palestinians.” On Sunday, the Israeli government approved the construction of 140 homes in the settlement of Ramot in occupied East Jerusalem and 100 for the Har Homa settlement in southeastern Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also approved plans to construct 560 new housing units for Jewish Israelis in the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim, as far-right lawmakers also announced their intentions to introduce legislation to annex the settlement to Israel. The Israeli government also opened a tender for the construction of 42 housing units in Kiryat Arba in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron, a decision made in the wake of the brutal killing of a 13-year-old Israeli girl in the settlement by a Palestinian resident of Hebron. The Egyptian comments come in the wake of a wave of condemnation from Palestinian and international leaders. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi responded to Israel’s recent plans in the occupied Palestinian territory in a statement on Monday, saying that the move was a “blatant disregard for international laws and conventions, standing UN resolutions and global consensus.” “By isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian environs and ethnically cleansing the occupied city of its indigenous population, the Israeli government is bent on destroying the viability, integrity and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Ashrawi said. The spokesperson for the European Union reacted to Israel’s recent announcement, saying the decision “threatens the viability of the two-state solution and calls into question Israel's commitment to a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians.” “Despite repeated calls by the international community Israel is continuing its settlement policy, which is illegal under international law. The EU urges Israel to stop this policy and to reverse its recent decision,” the statement added. On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel’s decision, urging Israeli leaders to halt the plans in order to advance peace negotiations for a final-status agreement. “This raises legitimate questions about Israel's long-term intentions, which are compounded by continuing statements of some Israeli ministers calling for the annexation of the West Bank,” Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Shoukry will hold “lengthy talks” with Netanyahu later in the day to discuss a number of issues, including the resumption of the “peace” talks with the Palestinians. The two will also discuss “laying the foundation and specifics of confidence-building between Palestinians and Israelis to create a supportive environment to resume direct negotiations between them with the aim of reaching a comprehensive and just solution,” the statement said. The last visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Tel Aviv was in 2007. Shoukry paid a visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah late last month and met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in May that Israeli officials and the Palestinians should grasp what he termed a “real opportunity” for peace. Last month, representatives from 28 Arab and Western countries, the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations met in Paris to discuss ways to help advance the Palestinian-Israel talks. Relations between Egypt and the Israeli regime have been growing since Sisi took power in the Arab country in 2014. Egypt sent an ambassador to Tel Aviv in January. Hazem Khairat was the first residing Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv since former President Mohamed Morsi recalled Cairo’s previous ambassador to Israel in November 2012. Morsi was ousted by Sisi in 2013. The Israeli regime also opened its embassy in Cairo in September 2015 after a four-year closure.

The influential daily revealed on the weekend that extremist Nour Party's Nader Bakkar has hold secret meeting with notorious Tzipi Livni in April at Harvard University. The meeting that was reportedly held at Bakkar’s request has sparked a storm of controversy in Egyptian media. The hardliner Nour Party is one of the political parties created in Egypt after the 2011 uprising. It has an ultra-conservative Islamist ideology, Salafism, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law. Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam that advocats a return to the traditions of the "devout ancestors". The doctrine can be summed up as taking "a fundamentalist approach to Islam". The Nour Party's co-founder and deputy chairman, Bakkar, Bakkar was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s in public administration at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Muslim Brotherhood accused the aspiring young politician of unjustly winning a fellowship to attend the prestigious Harvard University in return for his party’s betrayal of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The Salafi party sided with the Armed Forces against the Brotherhood during Morsi’s ouster, and since then has continued to support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration. He graduated on Friday from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with an MPA in public administration. A few months before his graduation, however, Livni visited Harvard on 16 April to give a lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sources reportedly told the Egyptian newspaper that after finding out that Livni was coming to speak, Bakkar contacted the society to arrange a closed meeting with Livni. She agreed and the meeting took place inside the university after her lecture. According to Youm7, Nader Bakkar’s meeting with Tzipi Livini lasted around 40 minutes, in which Bakkar talked about the strength of the Nour Party and its popularity, that he was the main reason for the (Muslim) Brotherhood’s success after the 25 January revolution… Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to entrap them- did not reveal the meeting at the time, but sources close to her confirmed to the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that the meeting took place. News of the meeting comes after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry's controversial visit to Israel on Sunday evening Livni held a string of ministerial posts between 2001 and 2014, and was foreign minister between 2006 and 2009. British police attempted to question her earlier this month over alleged war crimes committed against Palestinians during the 2008-09 conflict with Gaza, known in Israel as Operation Cast Lead. The clandestine meeting between a high-ranking member of the Salafi party and an Israeli official had sparked anger and surprise among Egyptians who are known for their pros-Palestinian stances.

The report entitled “Egypt: Officially you do not exist” states that people are being detained without access to family or a lawyer, and held incommunicado without formal charges or a trial. They call it "enforced disappearances," and in the first five months of 2016 alone, a suspected 630 of these have already been documented. Singling out Magdy Abd al-Ghaffar, the report says since his position at the head of the Interior Ministry, there has been a “visible spike” in the numbers of enforced disappearances. Magdy Abd al-Ghaffar became interior minister in March 2015 after previous stints in the State Security Investigations and the now-disbanded agency that was known for its systematic use of torture under deposed president Hosni Mubarak. In one of the 17 cases documented by the report, 14-year-old Mazen Mohammed Abdallah was forcibly disappeared from his family home in Cairo in September 2015. He told researchers that he was repeatedly raped with wooden sticks by interrogators eager to extract a false confession. Abdallah is one of five children disappeared for up to 50 days whose testimonies are included in the report. In another case highlighted by Amnesty, 14-year-old Aser Mohamed was arrested in an early-morning raid on his Cairo home on 6 June. Officers said they wanted to take Aser for questioning and promised to return him within a few hours, but failed to do so. His family did not have any information about him for the next 34 days, during which time they "made frantic efforts to locate him," according to the report. The 71-page report describes harrowing accounts of torture carried out by state agents. Some victims say they have been subjected to electrocution, blindfolding, beating, suspension by their arms and legs, and sexual abuse including rape

The US-drafted statement expressed grave concern about the situation in Turkey, urged the parties to show restraint and avoid any violence or bloodshed, and called for an urgent end to the crisis and return to the rule of law. Egypt, a member of the Security Council, where statements have to be passed by consensus, objected to the wording of the US-drafted text on the developments in Turkey. “We proposed different language that respects democratic and constitutional principles but the Americans refused to engage,” Egypt’s UN Ambassador Amr Aboulatta said, trying to shift the blame to the US. Egypt reportedly asked for a call for all parties to “respect the democratically elected government of Turkey” to be removed from the draft statement, saying, in telltale wording, that the council is “in no position to qualify, or label that government — or any other government for that matter — as democratically elected or not.” The US and Britain objected to the proposed change, which prompted Egypt to suggest that the council instead call on parties in Turkey to “respect the democratic and constitutional principles and the rule of law.” The new proposed wording was apparently rejected once again and the statement was kept in its original form. Egypt thus blocked the statement. That resulted in the Security Council’s failure to condemn the violence in Turkey. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that it was “surprised that its proposed amendment was not taken up, and with the claim that it is obstructing the release of the statement.” An attempted coup in Turkey began on Friday night and the violence and fighting between the putschists and government loyalists dragged into Saturday, when the coup was largely defeated. A total of 265 people were killed in the attempted coup d’état in Turkey. A coup in Egypt, however, played out more successfully in 2013, when then-army chief and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisis ousted democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi. Morsi was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement, with which the Turkish government reportedly has ties. Ankara had good relations with and supported the former Morsi government.

According to al-Yawm al-Sabi newspaper, Ahmed Karima said a number of Al-Azhar scholars as well as representatives from the Awqaf and Islamic affairs ministry along with religious figures will attend the event. He said the conference is aimed at promoting Islamic fraternity and proximity among Islamic schools of thought. Strengthening friendly and brotherly relations with Egypt’s Christian community will also be on the agenda, he added. The conference will be organized in late august, the scholar went on to say. Islam in Egypt is the dominant religion in a country with around 80 million Muslims. Muslims comprise some 95 percent of the population. The majority of the Arab country’s Muslims are Sunnis, and there is a minority of Shia Muslims. Estimated numbers of Egypt’s Shias range from 800,000 to about two to three million. Egyptian Christians, nearly all of whom are Copts (adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church or other Coptic churches), account for about three percent of the population.

The Israeli defeated the Egyptian with two throws to claim victory, with around 90 seconds remaining in the contest. El Shehaby lay flat on his back for a moment before standing to take his place across from Sasson. The Israeli fighter offered his hand, but El Shehaby shook his head and backed away. The referee called the Egyptian back to the mat and instructed him to bow. El Shehaby gave a quick nod of his head before leaving. The International Judo Federation (IJF) said the fact that the fight even took place was a major sign of progress. Spokesman Nicolas Messner said judokas were under no obligation to shake hands, but bowing is compulsory. Messner confirmed that the IJF would review El Shehaby’s conduct to determine if any further action should be taken. El Shehaby had come under pressure in the run-up to the fight to pull out. The Egyptian Olympic Committee warned El Shehaby that his citizenship would be revoked if he withdrew from the bout, but fans still made their feelings known on social media. “You will shame Islam – if you lose, you will shame an entire nation and yourself,” one irate follower wrote. “We don’t want to think what will happen if you lost to an Israeli. Victory will give you nothing. How can you cooperate with a murderous nation?” Miri Regev, the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport, insisted that El Shehaby should“respect the spirit of the Olympics and act accordingly.” Diplomatic tensions between the Egypt and Israel have eased in recent times. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry even watched the European soccer championships on TV with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Jerusalem in July. However, the Games have been hit by a series of politically-motivated scandals involving Israel. On August 5, the Lebanese refused to share a bus ride with the Israeli team to the opening ceremony, and two days later Saudi Arabian judoka Joud Fahmy forfeited her match against Christianne Legentil from Mauritius, reportedly to avoid facing Israel’s Gili Cohen in the next round.

The president added that US-Russia agreements on Syria, such as their attempts to broker ceasefire between the government and rebels, and more flexibility on the part of regional powers that have leverage over the warring parties could help find a way out to end the Syrian war. "Egypt’s stance on the situation in Syria is based on five simple principles – respect of its territorial integrity and the will of the Syrian people, a peaceful political solution [of the crisis], disarming of extremist groups, restoration of Syria, and resetting of its state institutions," Sisi told Egypt’s three key newspapers.

After the Egyptian revolution, the country suffered from more economical damage. Even though attempts were made in order to improve the economy, but stopping the domestic production and reducing the investments led to the downward development trend in Egypt. The Arab Weekly has reported that the poverty rates in Egypt have increased to 27%, which is unprecedented since 2000. According to the statistics provided in that report, 27.9 percent of the Egyptian breadwinners are unemployed. The inflation rate in June rose to 14.8% which had a 6% increase compared to last year. Emirates Investment Bank has predicted that due to the increased cost of water and electricity, this figure will rise even more in the future. Currently, Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves are at their lowest point within the last 16 months. Also, in the past month, Egypt’s currency reserves have decreased by 11% to 15 billion and 500 million dollars. Egypt’s economic dependency on foreign aid from US and Arab countries has also damaged its economy in the past decades. Decline in crude oil prices has likewise contributed to the worsening of the economical situation in Egypt. This decrease in the international oil prices has not only reduced currency reserves, but also caused the reduction of foreign investments in this country. Since a large portion of the investments made are in the energy sector. On the other hand, this decline in oil prices has caused financial crises for other countries within the Persian Gulf region that previously were supporting Egypt. Experts believe that Egypt should have implemented economic reforms many years ago, but fear of the negative impact of these measures on the general public had caused the Egyptian government to rely more on talks of such policies rather than actual economic reforms. Since 2014, Egypt has begun to reduce subsidies, and in the weeks leading up to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), news about the implementation of economic reforms have surfaced in the Egyptian media. Also, the parliament is going to review the significantly opposed VAT laws. On the other hand, it has not even been one week since the agreement with the IMF on a 12 billion dollar loan, but a number of parties, institutions and personalities of the country in a letter to Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, have condemned the loan and expressed concerns for the possible difficult economic measures that this loan might have for the people. These opponents stress that the Egyptian government should learn from the fate of countries like Mexico and Greece and instead of increasing the country’s debt, implement economic reforms. However, the experience from previous years shows that the austerity measures in places with high poverty rate, where a large portion of the population rely on subsidies to survive, may lead to social unrest and political consequences. Anwar Sadat’s attempts of the implementation of the austerity policies led to major protests in the 70s, which were dubbed The Bread Riots. While it has been 26 months since the start of the presidency of el-Sisi, the government has failed to reduce the economical challenges. Such that, Egypt’s budget deficit has reached 12% of gross domestic product (GDP), and IMF loan to stop the soaring budget deficits are essential for the country. Also, according to the official statistics of the Statistical Center of Egypt, the number of people that live below the poverty line of two dollars a day, from 22 million in 2014 has reached 25 million in 2016. According to the World Bank statistics, there are nearly 27 million people capable of working in Eqgypt, but 12.2% of them are unemployed. In this situation el-Sisi knows that his government's biggest weakness is economical problems. Hence, he has asked the general public to prepare for austerity. But, it is does not look like the Egyptians are capable of withstanding more economic problems. The Economist depicts the consequences of future of el-Sisi government’s austerity programs, and forecasts a youthful and aggressive revolution in Egypt. Said magazine writes: While 40% of the Egyptian youth are unemployed, they are forced to choose between the two options of Immigration and Extremism. The austerity measures are inevitably taken by the government to reduce costs, eliminate budget deficits, and reduce or eliminate some public services. But the critical success factor in achieving these goals is that the government should be popular and accepted by elites and political movements in social and security challenges. However, none of these are currently present in the Egyptian government. As a result the austerity policies will put pressure on poor people by increasing taxes, removal of subsidies and increases in inflation. Especially since approximately 40% of the Egyptian economy is at the hands of the military and even the previous billion dollar aids have not helped the economy. In this situation the military government might even face economic bankruptcy.

President Putin told me he is ready to host the Palestinian president and the Israeli prime minister for direct peace talks in Moscow," Sisi said during a briefing with three state-run newspapers. Palestinian so-called peace talks started in 1970s as an American initiative to help legitimize Israeli occupation and end Palestinian resistance, though numerous rounds ended in vain. Al-Sisi did not mention when and where Putin expressed his willingness to host negotiations; however Sisi expressed his support for any peace making effort with Tel Aviv regime. "Our relations with both sides enable us to play a vital role to find a way out," Egyptian president stressed. Egypt signed a peace treaty with the Zionist regime in 1979 and the two sides have since cooperated on security and diplomatic affairs. Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians and continued occupation through expanding settlements on Palestinian lands have blocked any attempt to end the conflict in this region. Palestinian Intifada has continuously resisted Israeli aggressions, though Arab rulers of the region have tried to contain resistance movements through talks and secret relations with the Israeli regime.

According to the department of crossings and borders, the crossing was initially expected to be opened until Sunday evening as more than 25,000 Palestinians are still in need of traveling, while others are stranded on the Egyptian side waiting to return to the Gaza Strip. A statement released later by the Gaza-based organization that represents families of people who were killed or injured by Israeli forces said that the crossing would operate on Monday as well. The group’s chairperson Muhammad al-Nahhal said Rafah crossing would be open on Monday for the entry of family members of “martyrs and the injured” who have been selected to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at the expense of the king of Saudi Arabia. He highlighted that 500 relatives of “martyrs and the injured” had been elected to benefit from the grant. The department of crossings and borders noted that it had prepared the documents for Palestinians expected to cross on Saturday and Sunday, and has begun to organize buses that will transport travelers through the crossing. On Tuesday, Egyptian authorities opened the crossing for three days to allow Palestinians passage for the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Egypt has upheld an Israeli military blockade on the Gaza Strip for the majority of the past three years, since the ousting of former President Muhammad Morsi in 2013 and the rise to power of President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt. While the Egyptian border has remained the main lifeline for Gazans to the outside world, Egyptian authorities have slowly sealed off movement through the border since Morsi was toppled by the Egyptian army. Due to the constraints on Palestinian movement through the crossing, many Gazans are commonly barred from leaving or entering the besieged coastal enclave, some for months at a time, as the crossing is only periodically opened by Egyptian authorities, stranding Palestinians on both sides of the crossing during closures. In 2015, the Rafah crossing was closed for 344 days. The crossing has been reopened on a more regular basis since the beginning of 2016. The near decade-long Israeli blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into poverty. The destruction from three Israeli offensives over the past six years and slow reconstruction due to the blockade led the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.

Karima also stated that the Sunni meeting that took place in Grozny, was aimed to shed light on the general concept of Sunni Islam, in order to take the name of Sunni from Wahabbis who only consider themselves to be Sunnis. The Sunni scholar also added, due to the academic diversity of the al-Azhar University, this institution refuses to excommunicate other Islamic thoughts, and we respect our Zaydi and Shiite brothers and consider them Muslims. Touching on the anger of Wahhabi missionaries from not being invited in Russia-brokered Grozny conference, Sheikh Karima said without any doubt those venomous snakes are offended because al-Azhar has not mentioned them, and in this case it was the right thing to do, because they [Wahhabis] are a deviant group; They are not paying attention to Islam and are excommunicating everyone such as Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, al-Azhar, Shiites, Ibadis, and Zaydis. If the world wants to root out terrorism, it has to stand firmly against Wahhabism, because Wahhabis are the source of all the intrigues and tensions in our world, and for sure, they will attack this meeting, even though we have not excommunicated anyone. In fact we actually hope that in the subsequent Sunni meetings, our Shiite and Ibadi brothers will join us for a conversation. Painting Wahhabis as agents of training terrorists in Central Asia, Sheikh Karima stated that Wahhabis have ruined young minds in the area and are using them to fuel terrorist operations. He went on saying that some Salafi-Wahhabi groups from Saudi Arabia have attacked Egypt because this country had housed Ahl al-Bayt (Prophet Mohammad’s Family) and always, whether during their lives of after it, Egypt has respected Ahl al-Bayt. Therfore, Wahhabis consider the Egyptians, people of heresy (Bid’ah). Ahmed Karima also stated: Our country is proud of the name of Imam Hussain, and Zaynab, (Grandson and Granddaughter of Prophet Mohamad who are highly revered among Shiites). Al-Hussain mosque and Sayyidah Zaynab mosque are two religious monuments in Egypt. The Egyptians believe that Zaynab and the noble head of Imam Hussain are buried in Egypt. Professor Karima said that ever since the Wahhabis became angry of Egyptians’ affection for Ahl al-Bayt, they started praising Americans and criticizing Islam in Egypt. In another part of his speech, Mr. Karima Referred to the Saudi aggression against Yemen, and said the Saudi and Emirati troops that are being killed in the war against Yemen are not martyrs, rather Yemenis who are victims of the Saudi attacks in this country should be considered martyrs. There is a difference between an aggressor and a victim. You can consider it a Fatwa that troops who get killed in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen are not martyrs. He also emphasized that the Saudis have established schools in Central Asia where extremist and takfiri beliefs are promoted. They grow up youths with the belief that Shiites, al-Azhar, Ibadis, Sufis, should be excommunicated, so, they get recruited in terrorist groups.

The court issued the ruling on Saturday accusing the defendants of illegally receiving foreign funds and using them to damage the country’s national security. The assets freeze applies to Hossam Bahgat, Gamal Eid, Bahey el-Din Hassan, Mostafa al-Hassan and Abdel Hafez al-Tayel. It further includes Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Hisham Mubarak Law Centre and the Egyptian Centre for the Right to Education. The initial probe into foreign funding was launched following the 2011 popular uprising that led to the overthrow of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. The investigation has targeted civil society groups allegedly suspected of plotting against the North African country. Under the probe, 43 Egyptian and foreign NGO staff went on trial in 2013 and were handed jail terms of up to five years for working illegally. European Union External Action Service criticized Saturday’s court decision in a statement, saying it violates human rights. “The increased pressure on independent Egyptian civil society, in particular human rights organizations and defenders, is not in line with Egypt’s commitments to promote and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms as guaranteed by its Constitution,” the statement read. Amnesty International also denounced the ruling as “a shameless ploy to silence human rights activism.” Human Rights Watch also complained that the individuals, whose assets were frozen, may face prosecution and prison terms of up to life, equivalent to 25 years in Egypt.“Egyptian authorities are single-mindedly pushing for the elimination of the country's most prominent independent human rights defenders,” Human Right Watch Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said. In an election after Mubarak’s ouster, Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohamed Morsi was elected as Egyptian president. Morsi was later ousted in a military coup led by former military chief and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in July 2013. The government led by Sisi has been cracking down on any opposition. Hundreds of Morsi supporter have been killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces over the past few years. Court jails 17 over island rallies In another development on Saturday, an Egyptian court sentenced 17 people to six months in prison. They are accused of taking part in protests in denunciation of a maritime border deal signed with Saudi Arabia that would hand over the control of two strategic Red Sea islands to Riyadh. The ruling issued by the court in western Cairo could be appealed. On April 9, Sisi announced that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir fall within the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia as stipulated in a maritime border agreement signed between Cairo and Riyadh the previous day. However, legal experts and opposition figures cast doubt on the legitimacy of the deal, arguing that relinquishing authority over Egyptian territory is unconstitutional. Critics accused Sisi of surrendering Egyptian territory in return for Saudi money, with reports saying that Cairo is receiving USD 20 billion in aid from Riyadh in return for agreeing to the handover of sovereignty. In June, an administrative court “cancelled the signing” of the controversial agreement with Saudi Arabia and said the islands “remain Egyptian.” The case is still being investigated in Egyptian courts and the parliament has not verified it yet.

Sameh Shoukry said on Friday that terrorist groups cannot remain in Syria for peace to be achieved in the Arab country. The Riyadh regime and its allies in the Persian Gulf region, particularly Qatar, have been seeking to topple the Damascus government. On the contrary, Cairo believes that the Syria crisis can only be resolved through political means. Earlier this week, Shoukry participated at the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting that was held on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. During the event, Shoukry underlined the importance of the resumption of Syria talks and the need to accelerate a comprehensive ceasefire in the violence-wracked state, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid. Shoukry also stressed that major powers should do more to target terrorist elements and organizations in Syria without discrimination. Back in February, Saudi Arabia confirmed for the first time that it was planning to deploy ground troops to Syria to allegedly fight the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group. Saudi military spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri made the announcement in an interview with al-Arabiya TV news. This is while Takfirism, which is the terrorist group’s trademark, is largely influenced by Wahhabism, the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia and freely preached by Saudi clerics. The remarks were followed by similar announcements from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, along with hints that Qatar may also contribute to the incursion symbolically. Reacting to the Saudi announcement, the top Egyptian diplomat emphasized at that time that it was a solo decision. He added that Egypt supports UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to reach an agreement on a political process in Syria. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and de Mistura have put the death toll from the Syria conflict at more than 300,000 and over 400,000, respectively. This is while the UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was elected as president in Egypt back in 2014, and Salman al-Saud came to power in Saudi Arabia, afterwards, with the occurrence of certain events, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's decision to assign two islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, speculations about a rapprochement between the two sides strengthened. But what has happened in the recent months suggests that the gap between these two influential powers in the Arab world, is in fact widening. According to experts, there are disagreements about some regional issues between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Also, events such as the Grozny conference -where al-Azhar stated that the Wahhabi groups in Saudi Arabia originated from Sunni groups- and the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Egypt on the sidelines of the UN meetings, angered Riyadh from Cairo. Meanwhile, in Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s meeting with members of the press in Egypt, he stressed that Egypt as a sovereign state has its own opinions on regional developments and issues. He added that his country disagrees with Saudi Arabia regarding the issue of the Syrian crisis. While Riyadh is insisting on the need to change the political system, or at least the removal of Bashar al-Assad, Cairo does not support such policy. Given such remarks by Egyptian Foreign Minister, it can be concluded that there are significant differences of opinions on the Syrian crisis between Cairo and Riyadh. These Differences arise from Egypt’s different understanding of the crisis. Egypt believes if the current government in Syria gets set aside, terrorist and extremist groups will take power, which will be an obvious threat for the security of the region and even the world. While Egyptian officials support the dialogue between the Syrian governments with the moderate opposition groups -not terrorist groups- they have also declared that Syrian public itself should be able to decide for the future of the political system of Syria. Another part of the issues and tensions that have recently arisen between Egypt and Saudi Arabia originated from the Conference of Grozny and its consequences. Grozny conference was attended by 200 Sunni people, and Wahhabi Sunnis were excluded, attendance of four of the prominent Egyptian religious figures in the conference (Dr. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Shawki Ibrahim Allam, Egyptian presidential adviser in Islamic affairs and former Mufti Ali Gomaa Usama al-Azhari) led to criticism from the Saudi Wahhabis towards al-Azhar. These criticisms seem to have repercussions on the relations between Cairo and Riyadh. They also seem to have affected the financial support of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi from Saudi Arabia. Regarding this subject, Saudi writer, Muhammad al-Shaikh, declared the following about the Grozny Conference: “Tayeb’s participation at the Grozny conference that dismissed Saudi Arabia from Sunnism will force us to change our behavior with Egypt. Our country is more important, and [President Abdel Fattah al-] Sisi’s Egypt shall go to hell.” Other symptoms of the disputes among these two countries, include reaching a stalemate over Egyptian and Saudi Arabian economic cooperations. In Salman of Saudi Arabia’s visit from Cairo, both sides were speaking of economic projects that have not been implemented. There is not any news of the construction of the Salman’s bridge over the Gulf of Aqaba, also, there is not any news regarding the construction of a free trade zone that was going to be established in Sinai. Egyptian government’s actions in determining the state border with the Saudis and assigning two islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, faced opposition from the parliament, and was not approved. The country's judiciary has also declared that this assignment is invalid. The latest manifestation of the growing tensions between Cairo and Riyadh goes back to the recent meeting that was held between Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister and Sameh Shoukry, the foreign minister of Egypt. The two sides reviewed various issues including the Syrian crisis. This meeting led to Saudis' anger since they were expecting the Egyptian side to act in accordance with Saudi Arabia in regional developments. Whereas according to the Egyptian authorities, it is in the interest of this country to start negotiations with Iran as an effective regional power. Especially because in the wake of developments leading to the June 30 Revolution and the arrival of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Iran did not take any position against Egypt and has been impartial with respect to the internal developments of this country. On this basis, it is clear that the meeting is not due to Cairo’s weakness.

According to an Interior Ministry statement, 61-year-old Mohammed Kamal and fellow Brotherhood member Yasser Shehata were killed when police raided their hideout in the southeast of the capital late on Monday. Kamal, a physician by profession, was wanted for more than a dozen armed attacks and was twice sentenced in absentia to life in prison, the statement said. He was allegedly in charge of several armed branches of the Brotherhood. He was killed in an exchange of gunfire along with Ragab as police tried to arrest them at a Cairo apartment. Ragab was earlier sentenced in absentia to 10 years' imprisonment. A Brotherhood statement, posted on its official website, said Kamal had been arrested by the police and that the group considers authorities responsible for his safety. Kamal is one of the most prominent leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and a member of the Guidance Bureau. He was in charge of the supreme Administrative Committee, known as the youth committee. Egypt has been carrying out an extensive clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other government opponents since the ouster in 2013 of President Mohamed Morsi. The government has labelled the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist organization” following the military coup against Morsi in July 2013. The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful organization. The coup against Morsi was led by then army chief and now President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who also launched a brutal crackdown on all Brotherhood members and supporters across the country. Tens of thousands were arrested and many others killed or injured during numerous protest rallies that followed Morsi’s ouster. The Brotherhood has strongly rejected terrorism charges. It continues to insist that it is committed to peaceful means of activism in its efforts to reverse the ouster and imprisonment of Morsi, who has also been sentenced to death by an Egyptian court.

Everything began when the Egyptian envoy to the UN Security Council has voted in favor of a Russia-proposed Syria resolution at the international body. A move that publicized already-existing Cairo's differences with some of Arab countries, apparently Saudi Arabia, on the conflict in Syria. This division in position on Syria was already speculated on by the analysts. But now this Egypt envoy's vote to back Russia's proposal has shown that how much Riyadh and Cairo’s gaps on the terrorism crisis in Syria are deep and complicated. Just last month when the UN held its General Assembly, Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, announced that Egypt and Saudi Arabia were at odds over ways to end the Syrian conflict, especially the necessity to change the government in this country and the future of leadership. These comments made way for unveiling the first signs of differences between Riyadh and Cairo about Syria while many analysts had suggested that these gaps could not develop to a degree to fan tensions between them and pave the way for negatively affecting their political and economic relations. But now less than a month after remarks by the Egyptian foreign minister, the Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco has declared that it will halt oil exports to Egypt, a step taken against Cairo right after Egypt voted in agreement with the Russian resolution to end fighting in Syria. Meanwhile, a Saudi analyst who is close to the Saudi government has lashed out at Egypt for pro-Russia vote at the Security Council and told the AFP that the kingdom has always showed respect to the Egyptian stances on the Syrian crisis but now the vote in favor of the Russia-proposed Syria resolution which was in a clear opposition to the policies of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries will push Riyadh’s tolerance to an end. Abdullah al-Mouallimi, the Saudi Arabian envoy to the UN, who apparently declined to hide anger after Egyptian positive vote to the Russian proposal in an interview with Qatar's Aljazeera news network said that it was saddening that an Arab state voted just against the Arab policy consensus. By Arab consensus the Saudi envoy meant the anti-Syrian government stance taken by the Arab states majorly under the kingdom’s influence. Riyadh is interested in seeing all of the Arab countries share the Saudi leaders' voice that calls for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be removed from power. The Saudi oil firm Aramco’s steps to cut off oil transfer to Egypt which for the first time was revealed by the Egyptian officials, according to the analysts, is a punitive measure against the pro-Assad policy adopted by the Egyptian President General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The Egyptian sources reported, quoting the country’s oil authorities, later last week that Cairo received no oil aids from Aramco since early October, pushing the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to rush to open bidding for buying oil from alternative suppliers. Commenting on the case, an Egyptian official has told AFP that before stopping, the Saudi oil firm had informed Cairo of intentions to cease oil supply, and so Egypt was not shock to hear about this measure by Riyadh. This reaction by the Egyptian official could be interpreted as a move to manage and curb any fluctuations in the energy market in the country which is desperately relies on the Saudi Arabian oil supplies. Egypt needs 1.75 million tons of oil every month, 40 percent of it is provided by Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim al-Qaytani, an Egyptian oil expert, has said that Aramco’s move to stop delivery of 700,000 tons of oil to Egypt was motivated by political grounds. However, the Saudi Arabian political conditions will not allow the leaders of the country to put so much strains on the government of President el-Sisi. It was earlier this year that the Saudi King Salman visited Egypt. Cairo and Riyadh signed agreement to give two Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tiran to the kingdom. In return, the Saudi king granted a generous aid package to the critically cash-needing Egypt. Despite the fact that the Egyptian Supreme Court less than three months later revoked the Saudi-Egyptian islands transfer deal, the kingdom, despite paying the aids, showed no reaction to the court’s decision and in a way accepted the ruling. Even several months after the anti-Saudi ruling by the Egyptian Supreme Court Riyadh showed green light to a new $4.5 billion in aid package to Cairo, arguing that the financial help aims at saving the Egyptian Central Bank’s reserves that witnessed a sharp drop recently. The fact is that although Riyadh officials these days are trying to display anger with Egypt over Cairo’s pro-Syrian stances by stopping oil supplying, the concerns over Muslim Brotherhood's gaining power in Egypt once President el-Sisi gets weak put Saudi Arabia to choose between bad and worse. This is what motivates it to provide Egypt with aids just against its will. These helps come as the kingdom fears emergence of conditions in the region that could be troublesome to it. These conditions are now current in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. The Saudi leaders are of little patience in dealing with such conditions that are hitting their country which sees itself a leader of other Arab countries. Despite gaps in stances on Syria between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the unfavorable conditions push the Saudi leaders to reluctantly support their not much loyal ally. An ally whose discordant standings on Syria intensify the tensions to the degree of cessation of oil exports.

“The Russian-Egyptian exercises involving units of airborne troops of the Russian Federation and the airborne troops of the Arab Republic of Egypt will develop common approaches to locate and destroy illegal armed groups in a desert environment,” the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. The drills, codenamed “Defenders of Friendship 2016,” started Saturday and will last until October 26, aiming to practice joint anti-terrorism actions, the ministry said. Colonel Andrei Belyakov, chief of the paratroopers’ operative headquarters, also said, “Airborne units have arrived to conduct joint drills in Egypt.” “These are the first of such drills held on Egyptian territory. We are ready to join the training to share our experience,” the Egyptian brass added. Russian jets deployed servicemen, armored personnel vehicles and all-terrain vehicle quadbikes, among other hardware brought for the drill including 100 tons of military equipment delivered to Egypt by five IL-76 transport planes. The military units are being reinforced by combat vehicles (BMD-2s) and armored personnel carriers (BTR-Ds). Last week, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Moscow and Cairo had agreed to hold the joint drills in mid-October on Egyptian territory to review “anti-terrorist” operations, military tactics, techniques and strategy. In 2015, Russian and Egypt held their first joint maritime exercises in the Mediterranean near Alexandria. The “Friendship Bridge 2015” exercises involved five Egyptian ships, including frigates Taba and Dumyat and five Russian vessels, among them the guided missile carrier Moskva and the catamaran hover-borne missile corvette Samum.

Last week, Egypt voted in favor of a Russian-sponsored UN Security Council resolution regarding the bombardment of Aleppo. Russia has been hitting terrorists who want to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, while Saudi Arabia supports the same terrorists. Egypt’s U.N. Ambassador Amr Aboulatta, defended his support for both Russian and French drafts, saying his country backed all efforts to stop the suffering of the Syrians. In a pointer that ties between Cairo and Riyadh have taken a nosedive, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Egypt left Cairo on Wednesday heading for Riyadh in what analysts believe is a result of an ongoing feud between the two countries over Syria. Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper said Kattan was on a three-day trip to Riyadh however critics believe his sudden departure is a sign of a growing rift between the two countries which has seen Saudi’s national petrol company, Aramco, ceased deliveries to the north African country. The Saudi regime opposed to Russia’s military intervention in Syria while under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Cairo, has not publicly spoken against the Assad government or the Russian intervention. El Sisi views the Takfiri terrorist groups opposed to Assad as reflection of the threats he faces at home. The Saudi regime also expected that Egypt would send its troops to support the Riyadh-led aggression against Yemen but El Sisi has resisted to be pushed into the Yemen quagmire. The Saudis have also been upset by meetings between Egyptian officials and representatives of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement. Elsewhere, Saudi oil supplies to Egypt have been halted since the beginning of the month, an Egyptian official told Reuters. Riyadh has a deal with Cairo to provide 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products monthly for five years. The $23bn agreement was signed between Saudi Aramco and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) during the visit of Saudi King Salman to Egypt last year. Iran slated to supply egypt with oil after saudi withdrawal The Egyptian government has meanwhile said it has secured fuel imports to make up for a shortfall caused by Saudi Arabia’s abrupt decision to halt previously agreed shipments. Reports indicate that Egypt has been offered refined oil products for October from several countries including Iran, Russia and Venezuela after Saudi’s oil giant Aramco terminated the delivery of 700,000 tons expected for this month, the petroleum ministry announced on Friday. In another move set to anger the Saudi regime, Russia and Egypt announced this week they would hold joint military exercises on Egyptian soil for the first time this month. Russia is building Egypt's first nuclear plant. The Egyptian government reckons the Saudi regime is in a quandary as far as regional affairs are concerned and has therefore decided to use the opportunity to front its own regional objectives. On the other hand Cairo is boosting its foreign currency reserves using Saudi petrodollars. Sherif Ismail, the Egyptian prime minister, announced that Egypt received a deposit of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia in September. Earlier this month, Egypt’s central bank announced that the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose from $16.564 billion in late August to $19.582 billion by the end of September, after receiving the deposit from the Kingdom. Egyptian travel agencies suspend Hajj, Umrah trips In further escalation of Riyadh-Cairo ties, Egyptian travel agencies stopped organizing Hajj and Umrah trips following a Saudi decision to increase visa fees. Egyptian travel agencies have objected to Saudi Arabia’s decision of raising the visa fee to 2,000 riyals ($533) for any pilgrim travelling to the kingdom to perform the Hajj and Umrah religious rites for the second time. A few days ago also, an Egyptian court has suspended a ruling freezing a controversial deal to hand over the control of two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. According to judicial sources, the Court of Urgent Matters issued an injunction against the freeze filed at the behest of Ashraf Farahat, a lawyer. In June, an Egyptian court voided the maritime border deal signed during a visit to Cairo by Saudi Arabia's King Salman in April. The Cairo government said at the time that it would appeal the administrative court's decision. The agreement concedes Egypt's control of the strategic Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. It has sparked angry protests in Cairo and other cities. Egypt aspires to reestablish clout in Arab world Egypt seems to have mastered regional political chess game where it pressurizes the Saudi regime and obtains billions of dollars from Riyadh while maintaining an independent policy in the region. By its recent moves, Egypt has once again reasserted its role in the region while the passive Saudi regime is forced to use billions of dollars to obtain support from regional players. the arrogant Saudi regime believes that financial support means that Cairo does not have an independent foreign policy. But despite the fact that Egypt is in a difficult financial situation it is resolute over protecting its sovereign policy. No doubt Egypt aspires to reestablish its traditional role as the leader in the Arab world and will not allow Saudis to usurp this position. In an unusually combative editorial, the editor-in-chief of state-owned Al Ahram newspaper said it was time end foreign aid that sees Egypt addressed in the "language of subjugation". "It is better for us to face the situation and announce the review of everything that could present a burden on decision-makers," he wrote.

Egypt closes Rafah crossing with Gaza after 5 days of operation

Egypt condemns Israeli settlement building as 'killing the hopes of Palestinians'

Egypt FM travels to Tel Aviv to meet with Netanyahu

Egypt in Shock as Co-Founder of Salafi Nour Party Meets Israel’s Livni

Egypt Detains 4 People Per Day to Wipe out Dissent: Amnesty International

Egypt blocks UN statement on Turkey coup

Al-Azhar: Shia, Sunni Proximity conference planned in Egypt

Egyptian judoka jeered after refusing to shake Israeli opponent’s hand

Egypt President Sisi Urges to Disarm Syrian Militants

Austerity Policy; Weakness of Egypt’s Military Government

Putin Ready to Host Israeli-Palestinian Talks: Sisi

Egypt opens Rafah crossing for 2 days, 25,000 Gazans still await passage

Al-Azhar Scholar Slams Wahhabis, Says Saudi Forces Killed in Aggression on Yemen Not Martyr

Egypt freezes assets of rights campaigners, NGOs

Egypt, Saudi stances on Syria crisis different: Cairo

Differences Between Saudi Arabia, Egypt

Egypt police kill senior Muslim Brotherhood leader in raid

Why Saudi Arabia Stop Oil Supplies to Egypt?

Moscow, Cairo launch joint counter-terrorism drills

Egypt Saudi Ties Take Nosedive over Syria