Karin: I concur completely the whole Egyptian meltdown has more twists and turns then a mountain road.Including the treacherous conditions!UPDATED BELOW This was starting to look like a case of needing more background. Myself, I am coming away with the idea that the military bloodbath and all that has ensued is serving as some sort of distraction from the Sinai region on one level. On any other levels? I am just not sure. Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Sudan. It's all there.I have been rolling the Egyptian scenario ‘round in my head. Thinking perhaps I need to understand the area of the Sinai? It could help. We shall start here: The curse of Sinai from the Jewish PressThe narrative is interesting, the spin is something else entirely. Fact? Fiction? Hoping we can sort that out.
The Sinai Peninsula was never an integral part of Egypt; (a remarkably convenient perspective coming from an Israeli?) it was annexed only in the beginning of the twentieth century, when Britain – which ruled Egypt at the time – wanted to keep some distance between the Ottoman Empire and the Suez Canal.
Reminds me very much of their spin regarding Palestine. The “ land without people and people without land” The Sinai is a part of Egypt at this time. Both geographically speaking and most likely in the hearts and minds of the Egyptian people.The Bedouins: People who are very clearly resident on the land in Sinai that is part of Egypt and they have been resident there for a hell of a long time.
“The Sinai Bedouins came to an agreement with the IDF (1967): if Israel would allow the Bedouins to have autonomy and live life as they pleased, they would not object to Israeli rule over the area. Israel ignored the poppy plantations that were cultivated in Sinai, which supplied a significant part of world opium consumption, and the Bedouins ignored the Israeli tourists on the Red Sea beaches who did not behave according to the acceptable rules of Bedouin modesty. The many tourist villages that were in Taba, in in Nawiba, in di-Zahab and in Ofira (Sharm e-Sheikh) at that time, provided a good livelihood to the Bedouins. The proximity of IDF bases also brought economic benefit to the Bedouins . The good relations between the Bedouins and Israel was based on the fact that Israel had no intentions of trying to turn the Bedouins into Israelis culturally, and that Israel let them live their lives according to the principles and laws that they have lived by from time immemorial"
If Israel really does have some type of arrangement with the Bedouins then this has to be one that is very beneficial to Israel. The benefit will become clear shortly.
An important detail to note is that the border between Israel and Egypt was a line on the map, not a physical fence or wall, and this enabled the Sinai Bedouins, together with their family members who lived in the Negev, to support themselves by smuggling goods, drugs, women and illegal immigrants seeking work into Israel. The Israeli authorities knew about this smuggling industry, but for years did very little in order to stop it, because it served the economic interest of both sides
As we are plenty aware Israel is deeply, deeply involved in trafficking of all kinds. And the Sinai Bedouins are their partners in crime as is being acknowledged by the author with his comment of "served the economic interest of both sides" Israel occupied Sinai from 1967 to 1982. For fifteen years the arrangement between themselves and the Bedouins thrived. Under military cover of an Israeli occupation. Very curious.
“When Israel withdrew from Sinai in 1982, sovereignty over the peninsula was restored to Egypt but the Egyptian state did not return to the open areas or to the high mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. ( I have posted on this before) The Egyptian government limited itself to the scattered cities that were located on the shores: on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea – Rafiah, el-Arish, Sheikh Zayed, on the coast of the Red Sea – Taba, Dahab, Nawab, Sharm-e-Sheikh, and the coast of the Suez Bay — e-Tur, Ras Sudar, Abu Rudis, Port Fuad. In an attempt to deal with the problem of unemployment in Egypt, beginning in the days of Mubarak, the Egyptian government urged many youths to go to Sinai in order to work in the oil industry, the quarries and the tourism industry. The Egyptian government initiated agricultural projects in Sinai that depended on water brought from the Nile, and the entry of thousands of Egyptians into Sinai was perceived by the Bedouins as an attempt to overwhelm them, push them out of the area and deprive them of their livelihood. This is how the tension between the state of Egypt and the Bedouin population began in Sinai after the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula”
I would think that after 15 years of Israeli occupation the Bedouins were well armed, trained, supported and completely corrupted because of their involvement with Israel in such terrible crimes against humanity. In my book, trafficking humans is despicable. The involvement of the Bedoins gives Israel a convenient scapegoat to blame for crimes there citizens are very clearly complicit in. In other words the Bedouins provide the means to divert attention away from the criminal actions of the self proclaimed ‘god’s chosen’ But why did Egyptians not inhabit the lands of the Sinai? Was it because the lands were being bought up or controlled by Israel therefore the Egyptians could not. Sure they could work in the industries in the area, but, why not settle in?The Jewish press article continues on with a narrative of how Jihadis came to the Sinai since about 2010.It is very difficult for me to believe that ‘jihads’ came without Israeli knowledge and approval.Even Hamas, which was created by Israel set up shop in Sinai.
For the jihadists it was the freedom to do whatever they pleased, both against Egypt and against Israel.
Except the so called ‘jihadist’ that set up shop in the Sinai around 2010 haven’t been attacking Israel all that much. The jihadists have been attacking Egyptians.The crucial necessity of Egyptian forces in Sinai
Although the majority terrorist attacks are being directed at the Egyptian army and police, future attempts to launch cross-border attacks on Israel appear to be inevitable
The majority of terrorist attacks in Sinai are being directed at the Egyptian army and police, seen by the fanatical forces as representatives of a secular and void Egyptian state.
Since Mohamed Morsi was deposed as Egyptian president, the military has taken the bull by the horns and launched a large-scale operation against the terrorist training camps and centers of operation that dot the Sinai Peninsula.
But now, with Egyptian cities experiencing turmoil and mass-casualty clashes between security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood, it remains unclear whether the army can keep up its current level of commitment to fighting terrorism in Sinai.The more Egyptian cities, especially Cairo, suffer from instability, the more the Egyptian army may need to move infantry and armored units to the scenes of domestic disorder
* So, should the turmoil and clashes keep up in the cities making the Egyptian Army unable to keep up its current commitment to ‘fighting terror’ in Sinai, who would simply have to fill that roll?* Or put another way, who will benefit from the trouble in the streets of Cairo?The obvious answer to date is not the Egyptians. So who?JP tells us- "The IDF has been preparing intensively for the eventuality of increased terrorism from Sinai"JP: Tamarod movement calls on Egypt to reclaim sovereignty:
The movement claims that Israeli and international peacekeeping forces in Sinai prevent the Egyptian military from sending more forces to the peninsula to stop terrorist activity in the area.
The Israeli army and international 'peacekeeping forces' prevent the Egyptian military from sending more forces to the peninsula to stop terrorist activity? Why on earth would they do that?! Unless......The Atlantic
On the positive side, the Israeli strike suggests extremely close security and intelligence coordination between the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and the Egyptian military. The cooperation comes as little surprise: both sides quietly say that mil-to-mil cooperation has never been better. Since the revolution, one of the more resonant tropes of populist politicians in Egypt has been the call to "renegotiate" the Camp David treaty with Israel --and particularly the Sinai security provisions, which many Egyptians consider to be an unacceptable legal surrender of national sovereignty.
Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser :Eiland backed the crackdown by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the Brotherhood this week. "Sisi in the situation he faced, had no choice but to do what he did,"
I am sure the crackdown on Egyptians came with the Israeli stamp of approval.UPDATE BEGINS NOW: Israel Boosts Ties With Egyptian Army as U.S. Mulls Cuts
Israel is working closer with Egyptian forces to fight militants in Sinai even as top ally U.S. weighs cutting aid to Egypt Attacks on Egyptian security personnel in Sinai on the border of Israel’s southern tip have intensified in the weeks following Islamist President Mohamed Mursi’s July 3 overthrow
Someone has been taking advantage of the chaos.
Israel’s relationship with the Egyptian military “is clearly going very well at the moment, especially as regards Sinai,” said Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Cairo. A crackdown “is as much in Egypt’s interest as ours. Their security forces are also being targeted, and they have to be worried by the possibility that rockets being fired on Israel could the next day be aimed at the Suez Canal,” he said.