Opinion Editorials, August 2012

Attackers of Egyptian Soldiers in Sinai:

Murderous Terrorists, Par Excellence

By Khalid Amayreh

in occupied Jerusalem

PIC, Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, August 14, 2012

The murderous killing of some 18 Egyptian soldiers at the hands of some obscurant, nihilistic terrorists near the Egyptian-Palestinian borders on Sunday was a grave crime by every imaginable standard.

In Islam, there is no crime under the sun graver and greater than killing an innocent human being. Indeed, the murder of even one human being is equated with the killing of the entire humanity and the saving of a single life is equated with saving the entire humanity.

The Prophet Muhammed taught Muslims that demolishing the Kaaba, the House of God, stone by stone and brick by brick was a lesser crime in the site of God than murdering an innocent Muslim.

We don't know yet for certain the exact identities of the murderous terrorists who killed the Egyptian soldiers as they were breaking their day-long Ramadan fast.

However, all fingers seem to be pointing to the nihilistic Takfeeri killers who think they are practicing Jihad and endearing themselves to the Almighty by murdering innocent Egyptian soldiers, even during the holy month of Ramadan.

What sort of spiritual and ideological blindness has overwhelmed these gangs of ignoramuses and fanatics?

Besides, one is always prompted to ask who stands to benefit from this crime other than the enemies of Egypt, the enemies of Palestine and the enemies of Islam?

The perfidious attack on the small Egyptian garrison is undoubtedly a declaration of war on the people of Egypt, its army, government, sovereignty and national dignity and honor.

It is also a treacherous aggression against the Palestinian people, having occurred only a few days after the successful visit to Cairo by the Prime Minister of Gaza, Ismael Haniya.

Hence, there is no doubt that the criminal perpetrators and whoever stands behind them harbor malicious intentions against Egypt, especially after the deep democratic transformations the country has undergone since the ousting of the Mubarak regime more than 18 months ago.

The manifestly criminal attack shows that there are treacherous fingers lurking in the dark, trying to undermine the stability of Egypt by sowing terror, violence, chaos, and death in the most important Arab country.

And while we don't know exactly at the moment who directs and controls these fingers, it is by no means hard to predict their identity.

The first and foremost suspect is, of course, Israel, whose satanic mindset is capable of devising the unthinkable. It is well known that the Zionist entity suffered a serious strategic setback as a result of the Egyptian revolution.

More to the point, the advent of an Islamist president to the helm of power in the country of 85 million has been a nightmarish dream that came true as the Jewish state had made exceptionally strenuous efforts in coordination with its guardian-ally, the United States, to prevent the Islamists from ever reaching the portals of power in Cairo, even through democratic means.

In the final analysis, those who could devise the 9/11 bombings in the United States would likewise be able to contrive a less sophisticated scheme such as Sunday's bombing.

I know some people might think I am going too far by considering Israel the prime suspect in this affair. However, there are two main considerations that make this writer tend to point an accusing finger toward Israel:

First, Israel has a long history of devising and executing such operations, even without leaving any indicting evidence. Indeed, the fact that the Israeli army liquidated all the attackers suggests that the Israelis wanted the "secret" to die with the perpetrators.

Second, as Israel is undoubtedly the only conceivable party to benefit from this crime, Israel stands accused until proven innocent. Israel has always stood guilty until proven innocent. Israel is a crime against humanity.

To those who still don't know, Israel is hell-bent on rocking the good relations between the Palestinians, especially Hamas, with the new leadership in Cairo. This is why Israeli agents are expected to embark on the unthinkable in order to destroy all the bridges between Cairo and Gaza.

It is well-known that before withdrawing from the Sinai Peninsula in the early 1980s, Israel retained a large number of local agents and informers, including some "sleeping cells" which could be activated anytime.

This is of course not to preclude some of the overzealous elements who can be easily used by the Israeli intelligence to carry out some terrorist acts and are made to think that by doing these acts they are actually serving the cause of global Jihad!!!!

I realize that virtually all Palestinians, especially Palestinian Islamists, are deeply saddened by the horrific crime of murdering 18 Egyptian soldiers. In the final analysis, these are our brothers, our blood, and our souls.

I also know that we are all a little embarrassed, given the fact that the theatre of the crime took place so close the borders with Gaza that suspicions have been raised that some of the murderers might have originated inside the Strip. In fact, some anti-Islamist circles have shamelessly accused Hamas of playing a role in the attack, an accusation that seems to be motivated more by vindictiveness and ideological hostility and less by facts.

In any case, the governments of Gaza and Cairo should strengthen their security cooperation and coordination to prevent the recurrence of this crime.

The stability and security of Egypt also means stability and security for the Palestinians, and vice versa.

This is why the Palestinian side will have to take maximal measures to secure, as hermetically as possible, the Egyptian borders, in order to cut off the fingers that tinker with the security and stability of Egypt.

The enemies of Egypt, especially after the revolution, are many, and the enemies of the Egyptian-Palestinian brotherhood are many as well. That is why we need to remain constantly vigilant.

A final point. Egypt, our beloved big sister, will only be deluding herself if she thought it could secure the vast expanse of the Sinai Peninsula without deploying the Egyptian army there.

The Camp David Accords are too inadequate to guarantee true security in Sinai, given the extreme limitations imposed on the deployment of the Egyptian army in the region.

Hence, Egypt should immediately demand the restoration of the right to deploy its armed forces all over the territory to see to it that security is maintained.

The Israelis and probably the Americans would dither and fret, fearing an unfavorable strategic change along the borders between occupied Palestine and Egypt.

However, Egypt shouldn't flinch on this matter of paramount national security and the entire world would show understanding and sympathy for the Egyptian stance.

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah & ccun.org.

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