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Monday, February 21, 2011
Egypt is no longer committed to an alliance with Israel against Iran – Haaretz Daily Newspaper
Aluf Benn
A year and a half ago, an Israel Navy submarine crossed the Suez Canal on its way from Haifa to the Red Sea, where it conducted an exercise, and back. The unusual voyage reflected the growing strategic cooperation between Israel and Egypt, which aimed a menacing message at Iran. The submarine’s crossing of the waterway demonstrated how quickly Israel could deploy its deterrent near Iran’s shores, with the tacit support of Egypt.
Once more, the canal is being used to deliver a message of deterrence – but this time the direction is reversed. Egypt is allowing Iranian warships to cross the canal, on their way to Syrian ports. Israel was publicly critical of the passage – arguing that it is a provocative move – but Egypt ignored the pressures and granted the Iranian navy permission to pass, symbolizing the change to the regional balance of power following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt is signaling that it is no longer committed to its strategic alliance with Israel against Iran, and that Cairo is now willing to do business with Tehran. This is precisely what Turkey has done in recent years under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Since the uprising against Mubarak, the cold peace between Egypt and Israel has cooled even further. The delivery of natural gas to Israel, which was cut off after a terrorist attack on a station in northern Sinai, has still not been resumed.
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi returned to Cairo after decades in exile and addressed a million strong crowd in Tahrir Square on Friday, calling for the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the upcoming victory against Israel. In the past, the sheikh had expressed support for suicide attacks against Israelis and two years ago described the Holocaust as “God’s punishment of the Jews.”
The appearance of the Islamist firebrand in the square has returned hatred for Israel to the center of the public debate over Egypt’s future. Until now, the argument was that the revolution concerned domestic matters, not Egypt’s relations with the United States or Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been trying to send messages of moderation to the West, but this is hardly comforting.
There is growing concern in Israel that Egypt will become a hostile front, adding to the feeling of international isolation which has only intensified since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister. The recent vote at the UN Security Council over the Palestinian resolution to label the settlements as illegal only increased this sense of isolation. With 14 states supporting this measure, Israel needed an American veto to foil it.
The Palestinians may have lost that vote, but the issue demonstrated which side in the conflict enjoys widespread international recognition.
Bolstered with Congressional support, Netanyahu forced U.S. President Barack Obama into the veto – which he had avoided using to date. The Americans argued that internationalization of the conflict cannot replace direct negotiations, and that forced decisions will only result in parties taking up more extreme positions.
It is not yet clear what Obama will try to get from Netanyahu in return: a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories, or acceptance of an American peace plan. The U.S. president will argue that Washington needs to bolster its credibility in the Arab world and that Israel must contribute its lot to ensure that the new regimes in the area are friendly.
A year and a half ago, an Israel Navy submarine crossed the Suez Canal on its way from Haifa to the Red Sea, where it conducted an exercise, and back. The unusual voyage reflected the growing strategic cooperation between Israel and Egypt, which aimed a menacing message at Iran. The submarine’s crossing of the waterway demonstrated how quickly Israel could deploy its deterrent near Iran’s shores, with the tacit support of Egypt.
Once more, the canal is being used to deliver a message of deterrence – but this time the direction is reversed. Egypt is allowing Iranian warships to cross the canal, on their way to Syrian ports. Israel was publicly critical of the passage – arguing that it is a provocative move – but Egypt ignored the pressures and granted the Iranian navy permission to pass, symbolizing the change to the regional balance of power following the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt is signaling that it is no longer committed to its strategic alliance with Israel against Iran, and that Cairo is now willing to do business with Tehran. This is precisely what Turkey has done in recent years under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Since the uprising against Mubarak, the cold peace between Egypt and Israel has cooled even further. The delivery of natural gas to Israel, which was cut off after a terrorist attack on a station in northern Sinai, has still not been resumed.
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi returned to Cairo after decades in exile and addressed a million strong crowd in Tahrir Square on Friday, calling for the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the upcoming victory against Israel. In the past, the sheikh had expressed support for suicide attacks against Israelis and two years ago described the Holocaust as “God’s punishment of the Jews.”
The appearance of the Islamist firebrand in the square has returned hatred for Israel to the center of the public debate over Egypt’s future. Until now, the argument was that the revolution concerned domestic matters, not Egypt’s relations with the United States or Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been trying to send messages of moderation to the West, but this is hardly comforting.
There is growing concern in Israel that Egypt will become a hostile front, adding to the feeling of international isolation which has only intensified since Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister. The recent vote at the UN Security Council over the Palestinian resolution to label the settlements as illegal only increased this sense of isolation. With 14 states supporting this measure, Israel needed an American veto to foil it.
The Palestinians may have lost that vote, but the issue demonstrated which side in the conflict enjoys widespread international recognition.
Bolstered with Congressional support, Netanyahu forced U.S. President Barack Obama into the veto – which he had avoided using to date. The Americans argued that internationalization of the conflict cannot replace direct negotiations, and that forced decisions will only result in parties taking up more extreme positions.
It is not yet clear what Obama will try to get from Netanyahu in return: a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories, or acceptance of an American peace plan. The U.S. president will argue that Washington needs to bolster its credibility in the Arab world and that Israel must contribute its lot to ensure that the new regimes in the area are friendly.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Calls for protests in Damascus and Aleppo…
On January 28, the anti-Syrian, Saudi owned Elaph website carried the following report: “The Islamic, Democratic Independent Movement in Syria, one of the components of the Alliance of the Damascus Announcement for National Democratic Change, has announced the organization of a “wide and major” protest in front of the headquarters of the People’s Council (the parliament) in Damascus on Saturday the 5th of the upcoming month.
“The movement said: “We warn the Syrian regime against the danger of keeping up the oppression and the arrests against the free ones, and the exile of the honorable ones, in addition to putting the relatives and the affiliates [of the Syrian regime] in control of the country’s resources, the most important of which are the two cell phone companies. [The Syrian regime] must therefore take immediate definitive decisions prior to the major popular protests that will be taking place in front of the people’s council in Damascus.”
“The movement added – through a statement issued in Damascus, a copy of which was delivered to Elaph – : “We finally address our people and say: A soul that accepts Islam as a religion would not accept to rest afterwards…” The movement stressed: “We announce to everyone, very proudly, that Syria will always belong to all its sons, sects, religions, and ethnicities…” In addition, there were calls plastered on internet pages signed by “the popular committees of the Aleppo governorate” calling for groupings of protests in the down town of the northern city [of Aleppo], the second largest Syrian cities.
“…On the other hand, the Syrian city of Al-Rekka witnessed a night protest “in order to condemn the killing of two members of the Organization of Western Kurdistan by the Syrian forces,” according to the organization’s announcement. [The announcement] added that the Movement of the Democratic Youth in the Syrian city of Al-Rekka has organized a nighttime protest this past Wednesday…adding that the youth protested and held out torches, and condemned the “chauvinistic and racist policies of the regime including the starvation, terrorism, arrests, and killings…”
“It should be mentioned that, following the success of the intifada in Tunisia, the Syrian authorities banned the use of programs that allow access to chatting services on Facebook via cell phones, thus imposing additional restrictions on the internet… Mazen Darwish, the President of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Speech, which was closed down by the authorities three years ago, said: “There is no positive indication to any change in the policy of tight censorship in Syria following the Tunisian revolution.”
“…The Syrian authorities failed to comment on these new restrictions. However, Syrian officials had previously said that the social website, Facebook, is banned in order to prevent Israel from “infiltrating the Syrian youth.” The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who had helped in expanding the use of the internet in Syria, has a Facebook page…” - Elaph, United Kingdom
Click here for source
“The movement said: “We warn the Syrian regime against the danger of keeping up the oppression and the arrests against the free ones, and the exile of the honorable ones, in addition to putting the relatives and the affiliates [of the Syrian regime] in control of the country’s resources, the most important of which are the two cell phone companies. [The Syrian regime] must therefore take immediate definitive decisions prior to the major popular protests that will be taking place in front of the people’s council in Damascus.”
“The movement added – through a statement issued in Damascus, a copy of which was delivered to Elaph – : “We finally address our people and say: A soul that accepts Islam as a religion would not accept to rest afterwards…” The movement stressed: “We announce to everyone, very proudly, that Syria will always belong to all its sons, sects, religions, and ethnicities…” In addition, there were calls plastered on internet pages signed by “the popular committees of the Aleppo governorate” calling for groupings of protests in the down town of the northern city [of Aleppo], the second largest Syrian cities.
“…On the other hand, the Syrian city of Al-Rekka witnessed a night protest “in order to condemn the killing of two members of the Organization of Western Kurdistan by the Syrian forces,” according to the organization’s announcement. [The announcement] added that the Movement of the Democratic Youth in the Syrian city of Al-Rekka has organized a nighttime protest this past Wednesday…adding that the youth protested and held out torches, and condemned the “chauvinistic and racist policies of the regime including the starvation, terrorism, arrests, and killings…”
“It should be mentioned that, following the success of the intifada in Tunisia, the Syrian authorities banned the use of programs that allow access to chatting services on Facebook via cell phones, thus imposing additional restrictions on the internet… Mazen Darwish, the President of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Speech, which was closed down by the authorities three years ago, said: “There is no positive indication to any change in the policy of tight censorship in Syria following the Tunisian revolution.”
“…The Syrian authorities failed to comment on these new restrictions. However, Syrian officials had previously said that the social website, Facebook, is banned in order to prevent Israel from “infiltrating the Syrian youth.” The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who had helped in expanding the use of the internet in Syria, has a Facebook page…” - Elaph, United Kingdom
Click here for source
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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