Actualités en Egypte : Politique, Économie, événement...

[Youma]

Israel kills activist in Sinai

Published August 26th, 2012 - 14:43 GMT

Egyptian intelligence sources said on Sunday that a jihadist activist identified as Ibrahim Aweidah Nasser Amadaan was killed by a rocket fire in Central Sinai. According to the report, the rocket was fired by an Israeli aircraft while he was riding a motorcycle near a Badawi town about 15 kilometers from the Israeli border.

The reports conveyed that the victim was a member of a jihadist group. He was already arrested several days ago during the Egyptian military campaign in northern Sinai, but the security services later released him.

An Egyptian security source said the dead man was involved in an attack against Israel last year. A number of Israelis were killed in that attack.

Meanwhile, Egyptian security sources confirmed that the military campaign launched by Egypt against terror groups in the Sinai has stopped. According to them, there have been attempts to by the authorities to reach a deal with the jihadist groups in the Sinai Peninsula to stop the violence and stop their military activities. In return, it seems Israel decided to launch missile strikes against terrorist elements within Sinai.

It should be mentioned that the Egyptian authorities decided on Saturday to reopen the Rafah crossing, the only point of entry into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, according to Egyptian official sources. Following the death of 16 Egyptian border guards in an attack in Sinai Egyptian authorities had closed this terminal.

Last week, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh urged Egypt to open the Rafah crossing. "I call my brother Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to open the Rafah crossing to Gaza," he said. He also promised that he would investigate the attack, which led to the largest military assault launched in Sinai Peninsula for almost 40 years.

http://www.albawaba.com/news/report-isr ... nai-439548

[Youma]

In new blow to the military, Egypt’s president will regain exclusive right to declare war

‘The opinion of the armed forces is consultative,’ says member of the constitutional assembly

By ELHANAN MILLER August 29, 2012, 5:14 pm 0



The authority to declare war will be stripped from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and given to the president, Egypt’s constitutional assembly decided Monday.

To declare war, the president will require the consent of the National Defense Council, a security body revived in June by the army and comprising political and military figures. It will also require the consent of the People’s Assembly, Egypt’s parliament, but not that of SCAF.

The decision marks another setback for Egypt’s military establishment, which has seen its powers eroded since the election of Egypt’s first civilian president in June.

Earlier that month, the military amended the constitution of 1971, depriving the president of the prerogative to declare war without the army’s approval. Since taking office, President Mohammed Morsi has sought to consolidate power in the executive.

“The opinion of the armed forces is consultative, advising on the readiness [for war]; it cannot impose its opinion on the state,” constitutional assembly member Bassam Zarqa told the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

On August 12, Morsi overhauled the military establishment by retiring SCAF chief and Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Anan. Morsi also discharged the heads of the navy, air defense and air force.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-new-blo ... clare-war/

[Youma]

Egypt to detain former PM Shafik if he returns home



By Yasmine Saleh
CAIRO | Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:15am EDT

(Reuters) - Egyptian authorities will detain former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik for questioning over an alleged corruption case if he returns from abroad, a judge said on Wednesday.

Shafik, ousted President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, has been placed on a watch list at border points, Judge Osama el-Saeidy said in a statement.

Shafik, who lost a presidential run-off vote against the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi in June, left Egypt for Abu Dhabi two days after his opponent was declared president.

His aides have repeatedly denied Shafik is on the run, saying he would return soon to launch a new liberal political party, but the threat of arrest could deter him, analysts say.

"The investigative judge decided to put General Ahmed Shafik's name on the watch and travel ban lists based on investigations over his illegal allocation of 40,000 square meters of land... to Alaa and Gamal Mubarak," Saeidy said.

Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal are now in prison facing corruption charges. Their 84-year-old father was sentenced in June to life in prison over the killing of protesters during last year's popular uprising that ended his 30-year rule.

Dozens of legal cases have been filed against Mubarak associates since the president fell on February 11, 2011.

The one against Shafik was lodged in May by Essam Sultan, a leader of the Islamist Wasat Party, who accused the ex-air force chief of exploiting his former position as head of the Young Air Force Officers Association to sell land owned by the association to Mubarak's sons at reduced prices.

Shafik denied the charge and accused Sultan of being a former state security informant who had been used to spy on Islamists during Mubarak's era.

Sultan told Reuters after Shafik was put on the watch list that he hoped his adversary would return "to face a fair trial and present evidence on the accusations he made against me".

One of Shafik's supporters, Ahmed Abdel Ghani, said the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the moves against Shafik.

"I warn them to not touch General Shafik when he comes back or else civil war will break out," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/ ... RJ20120829

See also :

Egypt charges former Mubarak ally with corruption

By Maggie Michael on August 29, 2012

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Wednesday charged one of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak's most trusted men with corruption, including the illegal acquisition of villas, lands and apartments originally owned by the state.

Safwat el-Sherif, who served as the minister of information for nearly two decades, joins a long list of other former Mubarak cronies — businessmen, ministers and others — to face trial over alleged corruption. Popular complaints of endemic graft in high-ranking government circles was one of the main drivers behind last year's uprising that toppled the Mubarak regime...

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-08- ... corruption

[Youma]

Egypt Shiites demand opening houses of worship, parliament quota

Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Egypt’s Shiite Muslim minority is demanding official recognition by the state, permission to establish congregation halls, and a fixed quota of seats in national parliament, local media reported Wednesday.

Mohamed Ghoneim, head of the Egyptian Shiite Current organization, has called on President Mohammed Mursi as well as the official religious establishment of Azhar to consider their demands, said Egyptian newspaper al-Mesryoon.

In the interview, Ghoneim stressed that Shiites have the right to practice their rituals without persecution and called for the establishment of “Husseiniyat” halls in which they can gather to mourn the death of al-Hussein ibn Ali, son of Prophet Mohammed’s cousin, Ali ibn Abi Taleb, and one of the most venerated figures in the Shiite faith.

“This will be the first step towards applying the principles of citizenship on Egyptian Shiites so that they would feel equal to the rest of Egyptians,” he told the newspaper.

Ghoneim argued that Shiites made up the third largest religious group in Egypt, after Sunni Muslims and Coptic Orthodox, and that is why they needed to fair representation in parliament.

“Shiites have to be represented in the People’s Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and the Consultative Assembly, the upper house of parliament, as is the case with Copts so that they would be integrated in the society and would no longer be treated as outcasts,” he reportedly said.

Commenting on the visit of President Mursi to Iran, Ghoneim told the newspaper it was unlikely that ties between the two countries will be restored soon.

“There are so many pending files, like the security of the Gulf. There is also fear of Shiite infiltration in Egypt, even though Iran reassured Egypt about this several times,” he said.

Mursi, Ghoneim added, is also facing a lot of pressure from the U.S. and Israel not to establish ties with Iran.

“Both countries do not want to see a normalization take place between Egypt and Iran,” he reportedly said.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 34991.html

[Youma]

Voici l'effet camp david :no:

'Egyptian army begins pulling tanks out of Sinai'

By JPOST.COM STAFF 08/30/2012 15:41

Day after Egypt says it's broadening offensive against militants, security officials tell Ma'an 11 tanks depart Sinai.



The Egyptian army began withdrawing tanks from the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

The report comes just a day after Egypt's army said it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border.

After terrorists attacked and killed 16 border guards on Aug. 5, Egypt launched an operation using the army and police to raid militant hideouts, arrest suspects and seize weapons, including rockets and other arms, that are rife in the area.

Egyptian security sources said that 11 tanks had departed Sinai toward Beit al-Abid, following an arrangement with militants to cease hostilities, the Egyptian correspondent for Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.

Disorder has spread in Sinai since President Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year. Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaida have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.

But Israeli officials have also privately voiced concerns about heavy equipment being sent to an area where there are restrictions on weapon deployments under a 1979 peace treaty.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy said on Monday that Egypt was committed to all treaties and, without naming Israel, said no other states should worry about its actions in Sinai.

"As of the morning of Aug. 29, in continuation of the military operation, there will be a redeployment of forces in various locations in Sinai to complete the hunt for terrorist elements," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

A military source said this would involve spreading security forces over a wider area to root out militants.

The campaign is led by the defense minister and head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, appointed by Mosy in a shake-up of the military top brass on Aug. 12. The Islamist president has promised to restore order.

Sisi briefed Morsy on the Sinai operation on Monday.

The ministry statement on its website said 11 militants had been killed and 23 arrested in the campaign.

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=283240

[Youma]

Egypt Shuts Down Last Jewish Synagogue

By: Jewish Press News Briefs
Published: September 1st, 2012

For the first time in 2,000 years, there will be no Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services at the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria in 5773, reports Daniel Greenfield in “In The Point.”

This was the last active synagogue in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities’ excuse for the shut-down, effectively outlawing High Holiday services in the country, were “security” reasons.

Levana Zamir, head of the International Association of Egyptian Jews in Israel, said: “It seems this is really the end of Jewish life in Egypt. The authorities have found a way to take over the last Jewish bastion, since all the remaining synagogues are already archaeological and tourist sites. It is very sad.”

This is yet another example of the fact that Jewish life is becoming extinct in the Muslim world.

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breakin ... 012/09/01/

[Youma]

Egypte : la télévision d'Etat met le voile

Par Clotilde Mraffko, publié le 03/09/2012 à 19:18

L'après-Moubarak dans les médias se traduit aussi par l'arrivée de présentatrices voilées sur les chaînes de la télévision publique. Une première plutôt discrète qui ne transforme pas le paysage audiovisuel du pays.

EGYPTE - Fatma Nabil est la première présentatrice autorisée à revêtir un foulard sur une chaîne d'Etat égyptienne.

Les cheveux cachés sous un voile crème, Fatma Nabil a créé la surprise, dimanche 2 septembre, en présentant le journal télévisé de la mi-journée sur la première chaîne publique égyptienne. C'est la première fois qu'une journaliste voilée apparaît dans un programme de la télévision d'Etat. Un développement rendu possible par l'intervention du nouveau ministre de l'Information du gouvernement formé par les Frères Musulmans, Salah Abdel Maqsoud, qui a déclaré quelques jours plus tôt que "la télévision égytienne accueille[rait] tous ses fils et filles et [que] personne ne sera[it] exclu. Parallèlement, a-t-il ajouté, le voile est très répandu, 80% des femmes le portent" . Une autorisation à demi-mot, voire un encouragement, qui fait mouche, puisque selon le ministre d'autres femmes voilées devraient apparaître à l'écran ces prochaines semaines, sur plusieurs chaînes publiques, aux commandes de l'information ou de la météo...

http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/ ... 56120.html

Le président Morsi bat des records de popularité

03.09.2012 

Premier sondage après soixante jours de présidence Morsi : 77 % de satisfaits, 60 % de votants dans le cas où des élections auraient lieu maintenant", indique le quotidien libéral du Caire. Les sondages sont à prendre avec précaution dans un pays peu habitué à cet exercice, mais la popularité du président, issu des Frères musulmans,a incontestablement fait un bond depuis qu'il s'est affirmé face à l'armée en écartant, le 12 août, le ministre de la Défense, Mohamed Hussein Tantaoui, qui était en poste depuis vingt ans.

http://www.courrierinternational.com/br ... popularite

[Youma]

Egypte/Israël : un nouvel ambassadeur égyptien arrive en Israël

lundi 3 septembre 2012 - 13h35

D’après des médias locaux, Atef Sayyed Al-Ahl, est nommé ambassadeur en Israël, et a pris ses fonctions dimanche (hier).

Selon des sources de l’ambassade d’Égypte en Israël, la désignation de M. Al-Ahl n’a rien à voir avec le changement de régime en Égypte « mais c’était une décision déjà prise plus tôt ».

http://mediarabe.info/spip.php?breve8244

[KHAYBAR]

Des hommes en armes attaquent une base de la Force multinationale et d'observateurs dans le Sinaï

14-09-2012 à 19h50

LE CAIRE (Sipa) — Des militants islamistes présumés ont attaqué vendredi une base de la Force multinationale et d'observateurs (FMO) dans la péninsule du Sinaï en Egypte, près de la frontière avec la Bande de Gaza, blessant quatre militaires, a déclaré un responsable de la force de maintien de la paix.

Selon ce responsable, les militants, équipés d'armes automatiques, ont mis le feu aux véhicules et ont affrontés les troupes sur place.

Le responsable, qui a requis l'anonymat, juge que cette attaque pourrait être liée au film amateur "Innocence of Muslims" ("Innocence des musulmans"), réalisé aux Etats-Unis et diffusé sur Internet, et qui a déclenché de violentes manifestations contre des représentations diplomatiques occidentales dans plusieurs pays du monde musulman.

La Force multinationale et d'observateurs est une organisation internationale indépendante liée au Traité de paix de 1979 entre l'Egypte et Israël.

http://www.challenges.fr/monde/20120914 ... sinai.html

[Youma]

Adviser says Egypt should control Sinai

Published: Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:24 AM

CAIRO, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The Camp David Accords with Israel should be modified to allow Egypt full control over the Sinai, says an adviser to President Mohamed Morsi.

Mohamed Esmat Seif al-Dawla said the treaty "disarms" two-thirds of the peninsula, leaving the region without protection, al-Masry al-Youm reported.

Protection by Egyptian armed forces will allow for real development in Sinai, Dawla said.

Egypt must take full control of the area because "the Israeli media threatened to storm Sinai to mount pressure on Egypt," he said.

Under terms of the 1979 treaty, only Egyptian police with light weapons are allowed to guard the border with Israel. Egyptian troops are prohibited from entering the peninsula without prior agreement.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/ ... z26SsQnsbP

[Youma]

Une attaque à la frontière entre Israël et l'Égypte fait quatre morts



Un raid, mené vendredi 21 septembre par trois hommes armés qui avaient pénétré en Israël depuis la péninsule frontalière du Sinaï en Égypte, a coûté la vie aux auteurs de cette attaque ainsi qu'à un soldat israélien, a signalé l'armée israélienne.
Par Dépêche (texte)


Trois hommes armés infiltrés en Israël à partir du Sinaï égyptien ont été tués, ainsi qu'un soldat israélien, dans un accrochage vendredi à la frontière, où les attaques se multiplient.

"Trois terroristes armés sont entrés en Israël à partir du Sinaï dans un secteur appelé Har Harif", où la barrière frontalière est encore en construction, a indiqué la porte-parole de l'armée israélienne, le lieutenant-colonel Avital Leibovich.

"Ils ont ouvert le feu sur les soldats israéliens qui protégeaient les ouvriers dans ce secteur. D'autres troupes qui se trouvaient à proximité sont arrivées et ont tiré sur" les assaillants, a-t-elle ajouté.

Un soldat israélien est mort durant l'accrochage et "les trois terroristes ont été tués", a indiqué la porte-parole, affirmant qu'"un très gros attentat avait été déjoué" et excluant qu'il puisse y avoir d'autres membres du commando.

Selon un communiqué militaire, "le soldat Netanaël Yahlomi, 20 ans, un artilleur, a été tué par les tirs des terroristes". Il a été élevé au rang de caporal à titre posthume.

Selon des sources de sécurité égyptiennes, les trois assaillants se sont infiltrés à partir du centre du Sinaï. Deux ont été tués par l'armée israélienne, le troisième a actionné la ceinture d'explosifs qu'il portait, a-t-on ajouté.

Dans un communiqué, l'armée israélienne a précisé qu'"un des terroristes était armé d'une ceinture d'explosifs".

"Il s'agit d'un secteur dans lequel la construction de la barrière n'a pas été achevée", a-t-elle souligné.

"Tout l'accrochage a eu lieu du côté israélien parce qu'ils ont franchi la frontière vers le côté israélien", a précisé le lieutenant-colonel Leibovich.

Reprendre en main le Sinaï

Israël érige actuellement une barrière de 250 km le long de sa frontière avec l'Egypte. Quelque 170 km ont déjà été construits et l'ouvrage devrait être achevé d'ici la fin de l'année.

Le 18 juin, deux assaillants venus du Sinaï s'étaient infiltrés en Israël, où ils avaient attaqué un convoi transportant des Israéliens travaillant à la construction de la clôture frontalière, tuant un ouvrier, avant d'être abattus par l'armée.

Israël avait alors demandé au nouveau pouvoir au Caire de reprendre en main le Sinaï, qui échappe largement au contrôle des autorités depuis le départ du président Hosni Moubarak en février 2011, sous la pression de la rue.

L'attaque avait été revendiquée par un groupe se réclamant d'Al-Qaïda, dans une vidéo sur laquelle deux combattants barbus, qui se présentaient comme égyptien et saoudien, disaient "s'apprêter à mener une double opération de martyre visant les forces de l'ennemi sioniste à la frontière égyptienne (...) le 18 juin".

Le 5 août, un commando islamiste présumé, dont la nationalité n'a pas été révélée, avait attaqué un poste-frontière égyptien, tuant 16 gardes-frontière égyptiens. Les assaillants s'étaient emparés d'un blindé à bord duquel ils avaient ensuite pénétré en Israël où ils avaient été tués par l'armée.

Le 16 septembre, un soldat égyptien avait été tué lors de heurts avec des hommes armés dans le nord du Sinaï, à proximité de la frontière avec la bande de Gaza. Un peu plus tôt, des islamistes avaient lancé une attaque à la roquette contre un QG des services de sécurité, dans la même région.

Le 18 août 2011, un commando venu du Sinaï avait tendu une triple embuscade à 20 km au nord d'Eilat, tuant huit Israéliens, dont un soldat et un policier. Les forces israéliennes avaient tué sept assaillants lors de la poursuite, au cours de laquelle six policiers égyptiens avaient trouvé la mort, déclenchant une crise entre les deux pays.

AFP

IDF soldier killed, another wounded in border terror attack

09/21/2012 19:20

Soldiers ambushed while providing water to group of migrants, kill three heavily armed terrorists attempting to infiltrate Israel from Egypt; suicide belt detonates during battle; IDF: They planned a killing spree.

...

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=285809

[Youma]

Congresswoman blocks transfer of $450m. to Egypt

09/29/2012 10:45

After White House says it plans to send aid to Cairo, appropriations c'tee head Granger says Egypt gov't hasn't proved self.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration notified Congress on Friday that it planned to transfer $450 million to Egypt to help the country's new government, but the move was quickly blocked by a skeptical lawmaker who said she saw no immediate need for the cash infusion.

Representative Kay Granger, the Texas Republican who chairs the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee for foreign operations, said the administration's $450 million bailout proposal for Egypt was premature.

"This proposal comes to Congress at a point when the US - Egypt relationship has never been under more scrutiny, and rightly so," Granger said.

"I am not convinced of the urgent need for this assistance, and I cannot support it at this time," she said, adding that she had put a hold on the funds.

Granger's action reflects unease among some US lawmakers over the new Islamist government that has taken the reins in Egypt after a pro-democracy uprising overthrew longtime US ally Hosni Mubarak last year.

The Obama administration has nevertheless vowed to push forward with a $1 billion aid package for Cairo, a point reinforced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week when she met Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

The US assistance proposal had languished during Egypt's 18 months of political turmoil. The country now faces a severe economic crisis including worsening balance of payments problems and an exodus of foreign investors that has left local banks shouldering much of the lending to the state.

The United States was a close ally of Egypt under Mubarak and gives $1.3 billion in military aid a year to Egypt plus other assistance.

Egypt was among the countries swept by violent anti-American protests over an anti-Islam video made in California, and some US lawmakers have raised questions about the future of US assistance, particularly given sharp budget constraints at home.

The Obama administration has argued that it is essential to buttress Egypt, the most populous Arab country and the first to sign a peace agreement with US ally Israel.

REUTERS

[l'adjudant/chef]

les manifestants aux portes de la présidence

[l'adjudant/chef]

La police égyptienne étaient en état d'alerte après les nouvelles d'une manifestation prévue par les partisans salafistes de Hazem Abu Ismail, après l'attaque de siège du parti Wafd hier soir le jour du scrutin.

[l'adjudant/chef]