dagblog - Comments for "U.N. says Egypt crackdown closes 80 percent of Gaza tunnels "

I think there was a cooling

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 08:01:50 +0000

In reply to Why would bslev be banned? He

I think there was a cooling off for a particular comment that I've actually forgotten - maybe Alzheimers onset.

But ferocious? I'm the soft & cuddly type you like to scratch behind the ears. Clearly misunderstood.

Oh, I thought your original

Aaron Carine — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 22:34:16 +0000

In reply to Aaron, I'm not banned! I

Oh, I thought your original post said that you were close to being banned. But I'm tired; maybe it was in my head.

Aaron, I'm not banned! I

Bruce Levine — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 21:31:41 +0000

In reply to Why would bslev be banned? He

Aaron, I'm not banned! I self-deleted some stuff!!!!

Why would bslev be banned? He

Aaron Carine — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 21:28:12 +0000

In reply to U.N. says Egypt crackdown closes 80 percent of Gaza tunnels

Why would bslev be banned? He doesn't seem to be any more ferocious than Peracles.

Hussein Ibish from Open Zion,

Bruce Levine — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 21:19:09 +0000

In reply to U.N. says Egypt crackdown closes 80 percent of Gaza tunnels

Hussein Ibish from Open Zion, and what the crackdown suggests about the position of Hamas in Gaza, having substituted its alliance with Iran with the hopes of increased ties (and aid) from the Morsi government, and from the governments of Turkey and Qatar:

Instead [of Iran], [Hamas] sought funding from Qatar and Turkey, and political and logistical support from the now-overthrown Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo. They never got much support from the Morsi government except kind words, tea and sympathy. During his rule, the Egyptian military clamped down on the border area and the smuggling tunnels more harshly than they had during the former dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.

Nonetheless, Hamas hoped and expected that eventually the Islamist regime in Egypt would create more amenable policies, and that this would be linked to the emergence of Muslim Brotherhood governments in many other Arab states.

Those hopes are now dashed. On the contrary, the new Egyptian government is, if anything, openly hostile to Hamas. They are being investigated not only for colluding and collaborating with Sinai extremists, but for various forms of "interference in internal Egyptian affairs." One example of this is the investigation that has been launched into their alleged participation in a 2011 jailbreak that freed Morsi and a number of other key Islamist prisoners. Hamas angrily denies any "interference" in Egyptian affairs, understanding that this perception is not only exceptionally dangerous in Egypt, but also in the broader Arab world.

. . . .

Now the situation is totally out of control. Hamas is completely at odds with the new Egyptian government, increasingly unpopular with the Egyptian public, and has very few options left. For now its control of Gaza remains unchallenged. But if the situation continues to deteriorate, that could start to change quickly. Hamas has accused Egypt of wanting to resume the direct control of Gaza it had from 1948-1967.

No Egyptian government would possibly want or allow that. But even such a silly accusation reflects the growing sense among Hamas leaders that, like their erstwhile friend Mr. Morsi, their days in power may also be numbered.

Edited to delete stuff that should be dealt with in a separate thread.

Meanwhile, in other news,

artappraiser — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 04:39:25 +0000

In reply to U.N. says Egypt crackdown closes 80 percent of Gaza tunnels

Meanwhile, in other news, countering possible accusations of friendly intent towards Israel:

Egyptian, two Mossad agents charged with spying
MENA, July 25, 2013

Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat has referred an Egyptian national and two fugitive Mossad agents to the Ismailia Criminal Court on charges of espionage [....]

The Egyptian individual reportedly met with Shaul in the Israeli embassy in Thailand on 16 March 2012 and handed him information about Iranian ships, as well as Egyptian and foreign warships, passing through the Suez Canal, along with containers suspected of carrying weapons, military equipment and hazardous materials.

He stands accused of meeting with Mossad agents again between 2 and 5 December 2012 in the Israeli embassy in the Philippines and gave them detailed information about Egyptian naval troops in Port Said.

He was instructed to provide more information about ports in Damietta, Arish, Suez and Alexandria, and was given a secret code to use.

Confronted with the charges, the Egyptian man admitted that he is a spy.