The piece contains fairly detailed information and I really have no understanding why such thing gets published from TIME. Really. Very strange.
- Why locals (near Rafah crossing) believes the perpetrators came from Gaza. And this kind of explains why local population voluntarily rushed to close Rafah crossing. [*Egyptian people’s sympathy towards Palestinians - can be conflicting, not so straightforward - sensitive material.]
But in the security vacuum, Bedouin leaders in North Sinai have also reported a resurgence of the Islamic extremist organization Takfir wal-Hijra, a group loosely affiliated with al-Qaeda with ambitions of global jihad. No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, but Abu Deraa says community members who witnessed the incident in Huriya village near the Karem Abu Salem border crossing were able to recognize local members of Takfir wal-Hijra from among the attackers, as well as men speaking the Palestinian dialect. The Egyptian independent newspaper al-Watan reported on Monday that “anonymous people” had distributed leaflets in the area the week before, urging local residents to kill army officers in the Sinai on the grounds that the army was serving Israel’s interests. It wouldn’t be the first time since their resurgence that Takfir wal-Hijra had passed out leaflets.
Both Egyptian and Israeli authorities were quick to pin the blame primarily on Palestinian militants, suggesting a growing level of coordination between like-minded groups across a border permeated by underground smuggling tunnels.
- And report that Hamas is getting negative rep in Egypt. (Not sure how widespread etc. This article suggests that it is by rivals of Morsi/Brotherhood.)
[…] some of Morsy’s critics, including the daily newspaper al-Dustour, were quick to implicate in the attacks. “Hamas threatens the security of Egypt,” read the independent newspaper’s top headline on Monday. The front page was also splashed with questions like “Is it true that Morsy and his Brotherhood are moving to open an office for Hamas in Egypt?” and “Hamas’ reach within Egypt in cooperating with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood is a very dangerous thing. So will [the military generals from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] be silent, despite the threat to national security?”
August 07, 2012, 5:52pm 0 notes
