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In the Thick of the Fight Time Needed to Destroy All the Tun- Nels and Construct Substitute Homes

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In the Thick of the Fight Time Needed to Destroy All the Tun- Nels and Construct Substitute Homes " Watani Sunday Published by Watani Printing and Publishing Corporation 27, Abdel Khaleq Tharwat st. 9 November 2014 Cairo – Egypt 30 Baba (Paope) 1731 Tel. 202-23927201 Editor-in-chief Managing Editor 202-23936051 Youssef Sidhom Samia Sidhom 16 Muharram 1436 Fax 202-23935946 Issue 717 Website: www.wataninet.com Year 14 E-Mail: watanipaper@gmail Editorial Problems on hold Buffer zone on Gaza border Once Egyptians achieved the near-impossible task of ridding themselves of the oppressive thrown the MB leader Sheikh Safwat Higazy promised Egyptians "terrorism you never Islamist Muslim Brotherhood (MB) regime that rose to power in the wake of the Arab Spring thought existed". Another MB leader, Muhammad al-Biltagui threatened that, "there will be uprising, they knew they were in for a vicious battle with the Islamist faction. peace in Sinai only once Mursi is back as president". Move long overdue Egyptians had been willing to give the MB a chance to govern; after all, they did promise a The MB kept their word. Egypt, has been fighting Islamist terrorism ever since, but Egyptians life of prosperity on earth and paradise in the thereafter. However, the three elections that fol- are unapologetic. If anything, the MB viciousness serves only to steel public will against them. lowed the Arab Spring in 2011 clearly indicated that people had begun to see them for what The Sinai Peninsula especially has seen fierce battles between the Islamists, strongly supported Youssef Sidhom they really were and support for the Brotherhood waned. Muhammad Mursi won the pres- by the Palestinian MB off-shoot of Hamas, and the Egyptian army. Islamist al-Qaeda-like idency in June 2012 with a very narrow margin; the election results are still being contested in groups had begun to entrench themselves there in the Mursi days when there was a lot of talk Egyptians have greeted with relief court. The severely declining support for the MB drove Mr Mursi to make a grab for sweep- that the then president would offer Sinai as an alternative homeland to the Palestinian people. the move by the Armed Forces to ing powers in November 2012 and put an end to all possibility of democratic practice. Efforts This was one of the major reasons for Mr Mursi’s downfall. It offered strong evidence of his in- create a buffer zone on the Egypt to Islamise Egypt were steaming ahead and, fuelled by a nosediving economy, Egyptians de- tention to turn Egypt into part of an Islamic pan-world caliphate; this did not sit well with Egyp- Gaza border, meaning that it should clared rebellion. On 30 June 2013, exactly a year on Mr Mursi in office, some 33 million tians who in the main part cherish their ‘Egyptianness’ and favour a moderate version of Islam. be evacuated from its residents. The Egyptians took to the streets demanding the downfall of the president and the MB regime. During the period from February 2011 to October 2014, the Islamists waged 92 terrorist op- decision was taken in the wake of the The military gave Mr Mursi a 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the crisis, but he arrogantly re- erations in Sinai. Since July 2013 the Egyptian army has been waging a fierce battle against terrorist car bombing on 24 October jected it and, on 3 July, was overthrown. Jihadis in Sinai. Dozens of Egyptian soldiers have lost their lives, and dozens of civilians have which claimed the lives of 33 Egyp- Egyptians knew they were in for a vicious battle with the Islamists, a battle against terrorism been caught in the crossfire. North Sinai, at the northern tip of which lies the 14km-long tian soldiers and left 25 injured, not that Egypt could not afford to lose. The MB made no secret of this: once Mr Mursi was over- Egypt Gaza border, has become a dangerous place to live. the first since the 30 June 2013 Rev- olution which overthrew the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Ever since that date terrorist operations have repeatedly targeted Egypt’s mil- itary, police and civilians. The terror- ists and arms evidently entered Egypt through the Gaza border. The relief at the evacuation move was proportional to the build-up of Egyptian wrath at the increased terror- ist operations and the rising numbers of victims and injured, and also at what they perceived to have been in- action by the Egyptian authorities; the move was long overdue. The Egypt Gaza border area included numerous squatter settlements that acted as safe havens for access to the notorious tun- nels used in smuggling arms and ter- rorists into Egypt. Talk about evacuating the border with Gaza started in August 2013, the date the five-week-long MB sit- ins in Cairo were disbanded. The ter- rorist suicidal operations that fol- lowed aimed at shaking the con- fidence of Egyptians in their Armed Forces, and projecting to the world an image of a broken military force unable to control and protect the land. At the time, the Armed Forces pledged to wage a fierce war against the terrorists and purge Egypt of them. They chased them through the mountains, caves, and rough terrain of Sinai, only to discover that the hu- man and arms supplies came through the countless tunnels that riddled the border between Gaza and Sinai and that flowed into the houses on the border. At this point the army an- nounced it would evacuate the area of its residents and move them to new homes further west of the border in order to be able to raze the homes that included the tunnel openings. The plan was to clear a five- kilometre deep buffer zone that would be easily controlled by secur- ity, so that no more tunnels would be dug and no more terrorists would sneak into Sinai. The plan represented a shrewd strategy and, once executed, would have blocked the road before the On a recent visit to al-Arish, Watani finds Egyptians unrepentant, holding their ground evil which threatened the security and sovereignty of Egypt. But this plan was never put into action. The terrorist operations never stopped and Egyptian blood was in- exhaustibly spilt. The initial delay by the army and the government was in a way excusable because of the In the thick of the fight time needed to destroy all the tun- nels and construct substitute homes. Long months passed, however; ter- Queuing for the ferry selves." Many Copts left town in terror. Others whose live- rorist operations augmented, and no I recently paid a short visit to al-Arish, the capital of North Nader Shukry lihoods were closely linked to the town sent their children evacuation took place. A general Sinai. I travelled from Cairo to Ismailiya to catch the ferry that away to relatives and themselves stayed on. feeling of distress gave way to frus- crosses the Suez Canal to the Sinai Peninsula. In Ismailiya I roundings and climate we had sustained all day. Fr Mina Abboud Sharobim, 39, was killed on 7 July 2013. His tration and anger. The question that joined the crowds queuing for the ferry. Before the overthrow car was stopped by masked men; he was dragged out and shot at begged an answer was why the de- of President Mursi it was easy to cross the canal. Back then the Making themselves at home several times. Four days later Magdy Lamei Habashy, 63, was lay? The Armed Forces were surely al-Salam Bridge was in operation, but it had to be closed in the On the following day we went to the town centre. The most kidnapped and a ransom demanded from his family who were well aware of the danger of letting wake of terrorist threats. Now the only way to cross is by ferry. common memories the residents shared were about the de- poor by any standards, but a few hours later he was bound with sleeping dogs lie; what with the The passengers were unhappy with the long wait. The ferry can struction that followed the Arab Spring and the stepping down chains, beheaded and his body thrown near the local cemetery. arms and terrorists that flow into Si- only carry 10 to 15 vehicles a time, and the passengers and cars of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Is- Another Copt, 37-year-old Hani Samir, was shot and killed by nai through the tunnels. So why the have to go through rigorous security checks before boarding. Eve- lamist Jihadis held sway over the region and, during the Mursi masked men as he stood in front of his house in al-Arish. delay that allowed terrorism to strike ryone knows that this is to make sure that no arms or contraband time in office, it practically became ‘home’ for them. Dozens of Copts have been kidnapped for ransom, which ob- and boast fake victory at the expense find their way to Sinai, but the arduous process is frustrating and A young taxi driver told us about the notorious attack against viously offers the terrorists a lucrative means of financing their of the Egyptian blood spilt? the passengers raise their hands and ask God to avenge them the town’s Second Police Station in July 2011, some six operations. All the Copts in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayid—some The straw that broke the camel’s months into the Arab Spring. He said a procession of 40 SUVs 17 extended families—left town. According to one Copt, Fadya back was the recent bombing that against the terrorists who have turned their lives to hell.
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