Sunday, July 13, 2014

Egyptians Hoping Israel Will Destroy Hamas

by Khaled Abu Toameh • July 13, 2014 at 12:30 am Over the past week there are voices coming out of Egypt and some Arab countries -- voices that publicly support the Israeli military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They see the atrocities and massacres committed by Islamists on a daily basis in Iraq and Syria and are beginning to ask themselves if these serve the interests of the Arabs and Muslims. "Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more [people] like you to destroy Hamas!" — Azza Sami of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram. Isolated and under attack, Hamas now realizes that it has lost the sympathy of many Egyptians and Arabs. An uncomfortable moment during an April 2014 meeting between PA President Abbas and Egyptian President Sisi. (Image source: Video from President Abbas' Office) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi has thus far turned down appeals from Palestinians and other Arabs to work toward achieving a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas telephoned Sisi and urged him to intervene to achieve an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas. Abbas later admitted that his appeal to Sisi and (other Arab leaders) had fallen on deaf ears. Sisi's decision not to intervene in the current crisis did not come as a surprise. In fact, Sisi and many Egyptians seem to be delighted that Hamas is being badly hurt. Some Egyptians are even openly expressing hope that Israel will completely destroy Hamas, which they regard as the "armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization." Sisi's Egypt has not forgiven Hamas for its alliance with Muslim Brotherhood and its involvement in terrorist attacks against Egyptian civilians and soldiers over the past year. [...] Addressing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian actor Amr Mustafa said that they should not expect any help from the Egyptians. "You must get rid of Hamas and we will help you," he said. He also called on Hamas to stop meddling in the internal affairs of Arab countries. "Pull your men out of Egypt, Syria and Libya," Mustafa demanded. "In Egypt, we are today fighting poverty that was caused by wars. We have enough of our own problems. Don't expect the Egyptians to give more than what they have already given. We've had enough of what you did to our country." [...] Famous Egyptian TV presenter and journalist Amr Adeeb has been told by many Egyptians to "shut up" after his criticism of Sisi's "silence" toward the war in the Gaza Strip. One Egyptian reminded Adeeb that "Hamas is responsible for the killing of Egyptian soldiers." Egyptian ex-general Hamdi Bakhit was quoted as expressing hope that Israel would re-occupy the Gaza Strip. "This would be better than the Hamas rule," he said. Egyptian TV presenter Amany al-Khayat launched a scathing attack on Hamas. She pointed out that Hamas agreed to the reconciliation pact with Fatah only in order to get salaries for its employees in the Gaza Strip. Al-Khayat said that Hamas was seeking to depict itself as a victim of an Israeli attack only in order to get the Egyptian authorities to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. "They just want us to open the Rafah border crossing," she said on her show. "Hamas is prepared to make all the residents of the Gaza Strip pay a heavy price in order to rid itself of its crisis. We must not forget that Hamas is the armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist movement." Her colleague, Azza Sami of the newspaper Al-Ahram, went as far as thanking Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for ordering the attack on Hamas. "Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more [people] like you to destroy Hamas," she wrote. What is also remarkable is Egyptian criticism of Hamas for launching rockets at the nuclear facility in Dimona in southern Israel. Ahmed Qandeel, head of the Energy Studies Program at the Al-Ahram Strategic Studies think-tank, denounced the targeting of Dimona as "idiotic." He warned that this would have a negative impact on the entire region and endanger the lives of many Egyptians and Arabs. "Egypt must take precautionary measures," he advised. In response, an Egyptian wrote: "May God make the State of Israel victorious in its war against the terrorist movement Hamas during this holy month of Ramadan." Echoing the widespread sentiment among Egyptians, journalist Mustafa Shardi said: "No Arab country has done for the Palestinians as Egypt did. Why doesn't Hamas go to (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan? Where is Erdogan when you need him? Why is he silent? If he opens his mouth they (Israel and the US) will hit him with a shoe. The Egyptian people are asking: Where are our people who were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip? Hamas should apologize for the 1000 tunnels that were used to smuggle the resources of Egypt. They all have their own planes and accounts in Swiss banks." Continue Reading Article http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4401/egypt-israel-hamas

No comments:

Post a Comment