Israel and Egypt

The Bible says, you reap what you sow.

Israel will cease to exist within a decade, says Muslim Brotherhood official

A senior Muslim Brotherhood official has said that Israel will cease to exist within a decade, the latest in a series of inflammatory comments by figures close to Egypt's Mohammed Morsi..

the Telegraph,

1 January, 2013

Essam el-Erian, deputy head of the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, was trying to lay to rest a controversy over comments he made in an interview last week, in which he invited Egyptian-born Jews to return to the country.

In an interview with the Saudi-backed newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Mr Erian said that the "ideology of Zionism" had ended in failure and that "Palestine's occupiers" should leave to make way for the return of Palestinians.

"Jewish occupiers of the territory of historic Palestine are an obstacle to the Palestinians' right of return," he said. "Anyone who can read the future can see that this project has a decade, less than a decade to go, and it is our faith that the people of Palestine can then return to Palestine."

He said a future state would include Muslim, Christians, Jews and Druze as Palestinian citizens.

All but a handful of the Egyptian Jewish community, once 80,000-strong, left the country after the Israel-Egypt wars of 1948, 1956 and 1967, many to Israel. However, Judaism is given protected status alongside Islam and Christianity in Egypt's new constitution, and the Muslim Brotherhood, despite a history of anti-semitism, is now keen to insist its enemy is Zionism rather than Jews themselves.

Mr Morsi's own relations with Israel have become tangled as a result - he refuses to acknowledge or formally recognise Israel, even by name, but has also said he will maintain Egypt's relations with the country and played a leading role in negotiating November's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

As a result, spokesmen like Mr Erian have been accused by Islamist hardliners of becoming "American stooges".

Although Mr Erian remains an important adviser, both he and spokesmen for Mr Morsi insist his recent comments were made in a personal capacity.

Nevertheless, they will raise concern about continuing anti-semitism, widely accepted in Egyptian media. 

 Images like the one below evoke memories of East Germany

Israel completes bulk of Egypt border fence

Israel completed the main segment of a razor-wire fence along its border with Egypt on Wednesday, a barrier against illegal migrants and Islamist militants hiding out in the lawless Sinai region.

 

News Daily,

2 January, 2013

The five-meter high fence, bolstered by military surveillance equipment, is touted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of his commitment to the Jewish state's security as he campaigns for a national election on January 22.

Once the final 14 kilometer (8.5 mile) section is completed within three months, the fence will stretch from Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat to the Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean.

In the desert beyond, hardline Islamist groups have expanded in a security vacuum caused by the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and efforts to re-impose central authority have been slow.

Islamist gunmen killed at least 16 Egyptian border guards in Sinai last August and hijacked an armored vehicle which they smashed across the frontier before they were killed by Israeli forces.

With security and illegal immigration a target of his campaign, Netanyahu travelled by military helicopter to the southern frontier for a ceremony marking the completion of the 230 km (143 miles) section of fence.

His government has accelerated its construction, deported some migrants and imposed legal penalties on Israelis who hire them without work permits.

Thirty-six migrants crossed illegally into Israel last month and were arrested, compared with 2,153 who entered a year ago, Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

"Just as we stopped completely the infiltration into Israeli cities, we will succeed in the next mission - the repatriation of tens of thousands of infiltrators already in Israel to their home countries," it cited Netanyahu as saying at the ceremony.

More than 60,000 Africans have entered Israel on foot in recent years seeking work or refuge. They have stirred fears for public order and some have come under racially-motivated attack.

The bulk are from Sudan or Eritrea and Israel's ability to repatriate them is limited. Sudan's government is hostile to Israel and Somalia is deemed a ravaged danger zone by refugee advocates.

Israel portrays the vast majority of the migrants as illegal job-seekers. Humanitarian agencies say they should be considered for asylum.