Showing posts with label egitto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egitto. Show all posts

Sunday, March 25, 2012

New Video Documents Siege by Bedouin on Multinational Force Mission in Sinai, Indicates Links to Salafi-Jihadis in Gaza

New Video Documents Siege by Bedouin on Multinational Force Mission in Sinai, Indicates Links to Salafi-Jihadis in Gaza

On March 9, 2012, the blog Ansar Al-Shari'a, which chiefly follows Salafi-jihadi activities in Egypt, reported that the same day, armed Bedouins had surrounded the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) base in Sinai and laid siege to it. According to the report, they blocked access to the base from all four directions, in an attempt to pressure Egypt's "apostate government" to release jihadis from its prisons, chiefly Muhammad Al-Raba', Younis Abu Jurair, Osama Al-Nakhlawi, and Muhammad Gaiz.

The following day, the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam picked up the story, reporting that dozens of Bedouin were protesting on the roads leading to the base, blocking personnel and supplies from reaching the international forces there, and that they had even set up portable roadblocks, turning back anyone who was not a local resident. According to the report on Shumoukh,, the demonstration came in response to the Egyptian authorities' violation of a commitment to release jihadis from its prisons – a commitment made by the commander of the Egyptian 2nd Army during the Bedouin's previous round of demonstrations in late January 2012, in northern Sinai's Bir Lahfan area, in which they demanded, among other things, to halt natural gas exports to Israel and to release their prisoners.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5852&param=GJN.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Egypt: “Islamocracy” under Military Rule

Egypt: “Islamocracy” under Military Rule

Will Egypt’s Islamists accept the military as the country’s source of power and authority? Since the beginning of the revolution against Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood has avoided any direct confrontation with the military and has repeatedly sought dialog with it. Indeed, since the Brotherhood is focused on domestic policy, it should have no intrinsic problem accepting the fact that the military will decide on matters of national security and foreign policy, at least initially.
It seems that the military has managed to outmaneuver other forces in the country by creating conditions on the ground whereby everybody discreetly feels the military should play a role in safeguarding the political process, despite calls for its complete marginalization from political life. It is no coincidence that the only actual democracy Egyptians have ever experienced in five millennia was between 1946 and 1952.
The writer was formerly Deputy Head for Assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence.
(Jacques Neriah – Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Egypt, Hamas spar over Gaza electricity crisis

Egypt, Hamas spar over Gaza electricity crisis
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
03/18/2012 17:36

Hamas officials accuse Egypt of "political extortion" because of insistence on supplying fuel to Gaza Strip through Israel; Cairo officials: Palestinians not naive, they know Hamas gov't responsible for crisis.

Electric lines [illustrative photo]By Thinkstock/Imagebank
Hamas and Egypt traded allegations Sunday over which party was responsible for the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The crisis began a few weeks ago when Egypt cut off fuel supplies for electricity production in the Gaza Strip, shutting down the only power plant and enforcing 18-hour blackouts per day.
The fuel shortage has also resulted in severe shortage of gas for cooking and heating, forcing Palestinians to rely on wood fires as an alternative.
Hamas officials accused Egypt of "political extortion" because of insistence on supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip through Israel.
Until recently, fuel had been smuggled into the Gaza Strip through cross-border underground tunnels from Egypt.
Last month, the Hamas government announced that it had paid Egypt $2 million for fuel, but that the Egyptians did not fulfill their promise to resume supplies.
Under a deal reached between the two sides recently, the Hamas government was supposed to purchase fuel from Egypt.
According to the agreement, the Gaza Strip's electricity grid would be connected to Egypt and the Palestinian power opulent would start using gas instead of diesel.
Yusef Rizka, political advisor to the Hamas prime minister, accused Egypt of using the fuel crisis for "political extortion."
He said that Egypt's insistence of supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip only through Israel was designed to "force Hamas to succumb."
Rizka said that the Egyptian demand was both "illegal and arbitrary."
Egypt's General Intelligence Service was playing a major role in creating the crisis, he charged. He said that Egypt's refusal to supple fuel to the Gaza Strip despite receiving a downpayment of $2 million "raises many questions" as to the Egyptian's true intentions.
Mohammed Asqoul, secretary-general of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, openly blamed the Egyptian intelligence service of being behind the electricity crisis.
He said that the Egyptian demand to supply fuel through Israel was "completely unacceptable" to Palestinians for political, technical and administrative reasons.
Asqoul called on the Egyptian government and parliament to put pressure on their intelligence service to allow the fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, where there is no Israeli presence.
In response to the Hamas allegations, a spokesman for the Egyptian government said that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not naive and that they know that the Hamas government is responsible for the electricity crisis.
He said that although Egypt was suffering from a shortage of fuel supplies, it was nevertheless working hard to help solve the crisis in the Gaza Strip by upgrading and rehabilitating the Palestinian power plant.
The Egyptian spokesman called on Hamas to stop exploiting the crisis and suffering of Palestinians and to protect them from "mafias" that were involved in smuggling fuel through underground tunnels, a fact which, he added, led to a rise in the price of diesel.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

To the President Obama

Dear President Obama,
In recent years we often felt for my efforts in defense of Israel. This commitment continues unabated forever. We know that the best friend of Israel is the United States of America, land of freedom and courage. And we love freedom, and Courage, like all the Israelis. For this reason we ask you to confirm its commitment made during the AIPAC with President Shimon Peres. The United States of America and throughout the Western world must support Israel in its path for the affirmation of freedom and peace. The Israelis say their commitment and need peace for nearly four thousand years, facing all the enemies that history has imposed on them by the Egyptians to the Iranians.
For this reason we ask you to intervent officially.


הנשיא אובמה היקר,
בשנים האחרונות אנו לעתים קרובות חש על מאמצי ההגנה של ישראל. מחויבות זו ממשיכה ללא הפוגה לנצח. אנו יודעים כי חברו הטוב ביותר של ישראל הוא ארצות הברית של אמריקה, ארץ החופש ואומץ. ואנחנו אוהבים חופש, אומץ, כמו כל הישראלים. מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך לאשר את מחויבותה עשה במהלך איפא"ק עם נשיא המדינה שמעון פרס.ארצות הברית של אמריקה ברחבי העולם המערבי צריך לתמוך בישראל בדרכה לאישור של חירות ושלום. הישראלים אומרים את מחויבותם ואת הצורך בשלום במשך כמעט 4,000 שנים, מול כל האויבים, כי ההיסטוריה המוטלות עליהם על ידי המצרים לאיראנים.
מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך להתערב באופן רשמי.

Monday, March 12, 2012

TA-25 gains 0.5% despite rockets from Gaza

TA-25 gains 0.5% despite rockets from Gaza

Foreign markets and Greek debt plans seem more important than local news.

By Dror Reich



Stocks rose to open the trading week on Sunday on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The day started with big gains of over 1%, reflecting the trend in world markets at the end of last week after the Greek debt restructuring plan was approved before the deadline. But the local news of the rocket attacks in the south turned the TASE around near midday, with mild losses of up to 0.3%, though the market recovered near the end of trading to close up.
The TASE was closed last Thursday for the Purim holiday.
The blue chip TA-25 index rose 0.5% to end the day at 1,085 points, while the broader TA-100 index gained 0.6% to close at 994 points.
All the major indexes were well in the green, except for the Real Estate-15 and TA-Banks indexes, which both ended the day unchanged.
The BlueTech-50 index climbed 1.9% despite the escalation with Hamas in Gaza, and the Biomed index rose 0.8%. The Oil and Gas Exploration index rose 0.9%, and the TA-Insurance index fell 1.5%.
Large-cap corporate bonds were unchanged, while government bonds were down slightly by up to 0.2%.
Turnover was quite thin, at NIS 622 million, though higher than the anemic lows of a week ago.
Due to the Purim holiday, no representative rates for foreign currency have been set by the Bank of Israel since last Wednesday, and the central bank also does not set official rates on Sunday. But forex options trading Sunday reflected a 0.6% drop in both the euro and the dollar against the shekel, down to NIS 4.97 and NIS 3.78 respectively.
Among the shares that stood out on Sunday - for the good - were Israel Chemicals, up 3%; Union Banks, up 4.4% on news that one of its owners, Shlomo Eliahu, was buying Migdal Insurance (See story on Page 8 ); and Ratio Oil Exploration, which gained 4%.
On the down side were Super-Sol, losing 2.3% of its value; Hot Telecom, which fell 3%; and Cellcom, which dropped another 1.6% and has now lost 22% of its value since the beginning of the year.
Partner lost 1.8% and First International Bank of Israel fell 2.2%.

Egypt is our new enemy!!

Egypt's Parliament Wants Israel's Ambassador Out


Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament unanimously voted on Monday in support of expelling Israel's ambassador in Cairo and halting gas exports to the Jewish state.
The motion is largely symbolic, because only the ruling military council can make such decisions, and it is not likely to impact Egypt's relations with Israel. But it signals the seismic change in Egypt after the ouster of longtime leader and Israel ally Hosni Mubarak a year ago in a popular uprising that ended his 29 years in power.
The vote was taken by a show of hands on a report by the chamber's Arab affairs committee that declared Egypt will "never" be a friend, partner or ally of Israel. The report described Israel as the nation's "number one enemy" and endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance "in all its kinds and forms" against Israel's "aggressive policies."
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the vote by the People's Assembly, the Egyptian parliament's lower house.
Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The treaty came six years after the two Middle East neighbors fought the last of their four wars. However, the accord produced a "cold" peace, and most Egyptians still view Israel as their nation's enemy.
There have been bouts of tension in relations between the two neighbors, mostly over Israel's perceived reluctance to proceed in good faith with peace talks with the Palestinians, but leaders of the two nations have consistently kept open channels of communication.
The parliamentary report also called for the recall of Egypt's ambassador in Israel and a revision of Egypt's nuclear power policy in view of the widespread suspicion that Israel has a nuclear arsenal of its own.
"Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation," said the report. "It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy."
Monday's vote by parliament could serve as an indication of what may lie ahead.
The Islamists who dominate the 508-seat chamber, as well as the largely powerless upper house, would like to see the president's wide executive powers curtailed in the country's next constitution, while boosting those of the legislature.
If they have their way, statements like Monday's could impact on relations with Israel.
The parliament's vote could also give the generals who succeeded Mubarak an added incentive to keep the office of the president as the nation's most powerful institution and ensure that Egypt's next leader is beholden to the military.
The ruling military council is led by Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Many of its members are veterans of Egypt's last war with Israel in 1973, but they also have worked to maintain the peace since 1979.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which controls just under half of the seats in the powerful People's Assembly, wants a president with an Islamist background.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

PM Netanyahu to Cabinet on situation in south

PM Netanyahu to Cabinet on situation in south

11 Mar 2012
Last Friday, an arch-terrorist who organized many attacks against the State of Israel was eliminated. He was in the midst of planning another attack that was directed at our southern border with Egypt.
PM Netanyahu (Reuters archive photo)
PM Netanyahu (Reuters archive photo)
(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 11 March 2012:
Last Friday, an arch-terrorist who organized many attacks against the State of Israel was eliminated. He was in the midst of planning another attack that was directed at our southern border with Egypt. We are still on alert regarding the attack and I have ordered the closure of the road on the Egyptian border.
But there is no doubt that IDF operations have disrupted the organizing for the attack; of course, time will tell to what extent. Naturally, this led to another round with the Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad and other groups. We are still in the midst of this round. The IDF is striking at them in strength. I would like to commend this operation and the security and intelligence services. We have exacted from them a very high price; naturally, we will act as necessary.
I must also point out that the Iron Dome system has proven itself very well and we will, of course, see to its expansion in the months and years ahead. We will do everything in our power to expand the deployment of this system. In the end, the strongest force at our disposal is the fortitude of the residents, of the council heads, of Israelis and of the Government. We are taking the necessary defensive and aggressive measures and I have no doubt that with this combination, along with the necessary fortitude, we will overcome these terrorist threats around us.
E-mail to a friend
Print the article
Add to my bookmarks
See also

Egypt working to halt escalation of Gaza violence

Egypt working to halt escalation of Gaza violence
By JPOST.COM STAFF
03/11/2012 13:49

Cairo's envoy to the Palestinian territories in contact with Gaza groups, Israel in efforts to quell hostilities, calls Israeli attacks in Gaza "unjustifiable," and rejects claims of terror threat emanating from Sinai.

Iron Dome fires interceptor rocket south of AshdodBy REUTERS
Egypt was making efforts Sunday to halt a further escalation of violence in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip which has seen more than 130 rockets fired towards the Jewish State and 17 Palestinians killed in Israel Air Force strikes since Friday.
"Egypt is in a race against time in order to halt hostilities as soon as possible to avoid further escalations," Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian territories Yasser Othman told the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency on Sunday.
Othman was quoted by Ma'an as saying that Cairo was in contact with both the Israelis and groups within Gaza, in hopes that they can "avoid undesirable developments."
The Egyptian official called Israel's attacks on Gaza "unjustifiable," rejecting claims that Popular Resistance Committees chief Zuhair Qaisi, killed by the IAF on Friday, had been targeted because he was planning a terror attack to be launched from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Sinai is "fully under control...This is an attempt by Israel to give justification for the offensive against Gaza," Othman stated.
A Hamas delegation headed by Hamas co-founder and leader Mahmoud Zahar headed to Cairo on Saturday, the Palestinian News Network reported, as tensions between Gaza and Israel reached the highest point this year.
Hamas is having trouble reining in terrorist groups Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Resistance Committees, according to the report.
Click here for special JPost coverage
Hamas has contacted Egypt the last few days hoping that the country - which often acts as an intermediary between Israel and the Gaza-ruling Islamist group - can pressure Israel in order to restore calm, according to the report.
Egypt's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, denounced IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, calling for the IDF to cease actions in Gaza immediately.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday said Hamas was in contact with its allies in order to muster enough pressure to stop Israeli raids on terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to Al Resalah.
In a press release, the Hamas prime minister said the priority now was to stop Israeli aggression and protect Palestinian civilians.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

From the Hebrew press

Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press

4 Mar 2012
Haaretz
Yediot Aharonot
Globes
Jerusalem Post
Ma'ariv
Yisrael Hayom
(Israel Government Press Office)

Yediot Aharonot comments on the situation in Syria. The author says: "As it seems now, the moment of truth will arrive only in the form of a political solution, i.e. only when the President and his cohorts conclude that it is dangerous to remain in Syria and agree to accept political asylum without being tried," and notes that Bashar Assad has already spurned several such offers.
Ma'ariv refers to 'Israeli Apartheid Week' that was recently held on college campuses around the world and contends that "The international apartheid week was not only mendacious but it enabled those who have genuine contempt for human rights to continue with their actions." The author asserts that "When it comes to Israel, the rules are flexible. Thus, educating children to grow up and blow themselves up in public places is not a crime against humanity; neither is using them as human shields. Firing rockets at civilian cities? Also not. Denying the Holocaust or denying the right of Israel and its residents to exist? We can disagree on that too. What can I say to you, opponents of apartheid, wherever you are – if this is not racism, then I don't know what is."
Yisrael Hayom says that both the Israeli and American leaderships "have stated unequivocally that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable," and believes "The argument is over where to draw the red line." The author suggests that some of the tension between Jerusalem and Washington stems from the fact that, in light of the two nations' respective capabilities, a purely Israeli attack would have to come much sooner than an American one, given the pace at which Iran is hardening and fortifying its nuclear facilities. The paper asserts that if either ally accepts the other's red line, it will have given up its ability to decide independently when to launch an attack and adds: "This, in a nutshell, is the heart of the controversy." The author speculates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would agree to the White House's desire to give diplomacy one more chance as long as the Prime Minister believes that there is substance to an American threat to use force if talks fail.
Haaretz discusses the inflammatory remarks made by former minister Shlomo Benizri upon his early release from prison last week, and points out that contrary to his statements to the parole board only a few months ago, Benizri now denies all offenses attributed to him. The editor believes that Benizri’s current claim that he was framed “shines a dubious light on one of the most important conditions for shortening a prisoner's term: that the prisoner realizes the criminal nature of his act.”

The Jerusalem Post criticizes the Histadrut trade union organization for the intense spate of recent strikes it declared and the plethora of new disputes it intends to implement in the near future, and points out that the most immediate victims of the strikes are the workers laid off as a result of cancelled orders. The editor declares that “Legislation limiting the ability to shut down essential services without warning and without polling all union members is a must," and calls for union leaders to be made personally accountable “for the harm they recklessly wreak.”
[Semadar Peri, Lilach Sigan and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dal New York Times

Israel Guards Against Increased Terror Peril From a Laxly Patrolled Sinai


NEGEV DESERT, Israel — For decades, the striking ridges and shady passes of the western Negev Desert along Israel’s border with Egypt were an alluring gateway to the pristine beaches of the Sinai Peninsula.
Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times
Israeli security officials point to an erosion of Egyptian sovereignty and authority in the vast, sandy expanses of the Sinai desert, particularly in the year since the Egyptian revolution.                            
The New York Times
The Negev Desert has long been an alluring gateway to Sinai.
Today, though, from the Israeli side at least, the jagged landscape of red-brown mountains seems to cast longer shadows and has grown more menacing.
Israeli security officials point to an erosion of Egyptian sovereignty and authority in the vast, sandy expanses of the Sinai desert, particularly in the year since the Egyptian revolution. They say that Egypt’s attention has been more focused on events in Cairo.
Years of relative quiet were punctuated six months ago by a cross-border terrorist attack near the Israeli resort of Eilat that left eight Israelis dead. Since then, Israel’s anxiety has taken physical form as its defense establishment rushes to complete a 150-mile, 16-foot-tall steel border fence that will stretch all the way from Eilat up to Gaza.
“This is a hot border now,” said Lt. Col. Yoav Tilan, the deputy brigade commander in the area. “The major threat falls under the title of infiltration,” he added, in a briefing for reporters during a recent tour of the border zone.
Underscoring the tensions in the area, Israeli forces patrolling an as-yet-unfenced part of the border killed an unidentified infiltrator overnight on Monday during a firefight with a group of people suspected of being smugglers. Twice last month soldiers patrolling the border found bags filled with explosives, according to the Israeli military, dropped by smugglers who apparently scrambled back into Egypt.
The attack last August took place along an Israeli highway known as Route 12, which winds along the border. Israeli forces killed three of the assailants who had crossed into Israeli territory, and five Egyptian officers were accidentally killed by Israeli security forces as they chased down the attackers. Enraged Egyptians then ransacked the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, further shaking the 30-year-old peace between Israel and Egypt that was already under strain after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Israel’s former ally.
A section of the road closest to the Egyptian positions — where the gunmen staged their ambush of an Israeli bus, private cars and army personnel — reopened to civilian daytime traffic for the first time on Sunday.
The strategically located Sinai, a buffer area between Israel and Egypt, became popular with Israelis after Israel seized it in the 1967 Middle East war. It remained so with those shunning package tourism even after the area was returned to Egypt after its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
More recently, however, Israel’s counterterrorism bureau has issued dire travel advisories warning citizens against visiting Sinai. Reports from across the border tell of armed Bedouin tribesmen briefly kidnapping foreigners, heists occurring at tourist resorts and the repeated bombing of a pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel.
Israeli military officials say that there are now hundreds of terrorists in Sinai, and that the militant activity mostly emanates from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and, to a lesser extent, from global jihadist cells originating in North Africa. The officials say that ammunition and arms found at the site of the attack last August could be traced to Gaza.
Egyptians say the allegations of terrorist activity are wildly overblown. They acknowledge that the Sinai area has long provided a refuge for a certain number of militants. But after a recent military operation in the area, the Egyptian Interior Ministry — perhaps somewhat optimistically — pronounced it completely purged of militants.
“We have already denied that there is any presence of Al Qaeda in the governorate, or any other terrorist group for that matter,” said Gen. Abdel Wahab Mabrouk, the area’s governor.
He acknowledged, however, that since the revolution weapons had proliferated and that the police presence had receded across the country. Many others say that law enforcement has all but completely withdrawn from the Sinai, allowing it to become a hotbed of apolitical criminality. General Mabrouk’s own car was recently stolen.
He said he had no complaints about the Israelis protecting their border with a fence. But local Bedouin, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest, say they are incensed because it will interfere with their cross-border smuggling.
Others have long linked the crime in the Sinai to provisions in the 1979 peace treaty that limit the presence of Egyptian armed soldiers or police officers in the area. Hala Mustafa, editor of the state-run journal Democracy, argued that the Egyptian government might have deliberately relaxed its Sinai security to help persuade the Israelis to modify the treaty provision. Despite the tensions, the Israeli military says that members of its liaison unit in the area are in daily contact with their Egyptian counterparts.
But along this notoriously porous frontier, continually crisscrossed by Bedouin smugglers, military officials say it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between criminals, refugees, terrorists, friends or foes.
The Sinai, according to another senior Israeli commander, has become a “platform for criminals, terror activity, fugitives — anyone running away from their governments.”
The roughly 300,000 Bedouin tribesmen of the Sinai and their Bedouin kinsmen in southern Israel have nomadic roots and a traditional lack of respect for manmade borders. Lacking alternative sources of income and neglected by the authorities, they have long made the smuggling of goods and human trafficking a major part of their livelihoods.
The goods have included hard and soft drugs and weapons, the more sophisticated smugglers equipped with off-road vehicles and night-vision binoculars.
Since 2005, the smuggling routes have also served to bring more than 50,000 African asylum-seekers and economic migrants to Israel. The Israeli government originally conceived of the new border fence as a means to stem the flow.
But Israel says that the smuggling routes are increasingly serving as an infrastructure for terrorism. And in this craggy terrain, identities are easily obfuscated and confused. Israeli military officers in the area say that it is still not known whether the actual perpetrators of the attack last August were Palestinians, Bedouins or fugitives of the Egyptian government.
The fence, now half complete, is only part of a system designed to secure the border that includes new fortifications and advanced technological surveillance tools.
The military also relies on traditional methods, with an army unit of mostly Bedouin trackers scouring constantly smoothed sand paths running parallel to the border for signs of infiltration.
The smugglers use low-tech methods in trying to cover their tracks, for example by laying mats or wooden planks across the sand paths, crossing them in sheepskin shoes or in shoes with the soles stuck on backward to make it look as if they were heading for Egypt.
The trackers’ knowledge is passed from father to son, and it takes the trained eye and desert sensibility of a Bedouin tracker to spot the traces left behind by the Bedouin smugglers.
Asked how the trackers felt about revealing the tracks of other Bedouin, the Bedouin commander of the tracking unit in the area shrugged and replied, “Everybody has their job.”       


Isabel Kershner reported from the Negev Desert, and David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo. Mayy el Sheikh contributed reporting from Cairo.

La difficile ricerca di un nuovo equilibrio in Medio Oriente

03.03.2012
La difficile ricerca di un nuovo equilibrio in Medio Oriente
Analisi di Zvi Mazel

Testata: Informazione Corretta
Data: 03 marzo 2012
Pagina: 1
Autore: Zvi Mazel
Titolo: «La difficile ricerca di un nuovo equilibrio in Medio Oriente»

La difficile ricerca di un nuovo equilibrio in Medio Oriente di Zvi Mazel

di Zvi Mazel
(traduzione di Yehudit Weisz)
Zvi Mazel
La “Primavera araba”, espressione poco felice, ha fatto andare in frantumi il fragile equilibrio in Medio Oriente, che si era mantenuto, bene o male, per decenni. Ci aspetteranno lunghi anni di inquietudine, prima che un nuovo sistema regionale sostituisca le alleanze di ieri, spazzate via dalla tempesta. Tenuto conto della vastità dei cambiamenti avvenuti, i regimi in attesa di una costituzione, sono ancora incapaci di valutarei loro veri interessi e di darsi obiettivi precisi. Quanto ai paesi in cui i vecchi leaders sono riusciti a resistere –come l’Arabia Saudita - la caduta dei loro alleati di lunga data li mette in grande imbarazzo. Una cosa è certa: a breve e forse a medio termine, saranno le forze islamiche a prendere il timone e a decidere la rotta in base alle loro ideologie. La comunità internazionale dovrà imparare a venire a patti con dei movimenti che, dopo aver conquistato il potere democraticamente, forse, saranno disposti a adottare una posizione pragmatica senza però rinnegare la loro ostilità all’Occidente e a Israele.Yussuf Kardawi, il teologo accreditato e guida spirituale dei Fratelli Musulmani, lo ha detto chiaramente: lo scorso ottobre al Financial Times ha dichiarato che la riconquista del potere da parte dei Musulmani è definitiva e irreversibile, e che l’Occidente dovrà rivedere la sua concezione sull’Islam, aggiungendo che il dialogo con l’Occidente e Israele potrà continuare a condizione che “essi non si comportino con arroganza”.
Egitto
Con la caduta di Mubaraq tutta la regione è nel caos. Il suo regime era la pietra angolare di tutto l’edificio- nonché il più fedele alleato dell’America. Subito dopo la rivoluzione, l’Egitto si è affrettato ad annunciare di non avere più nemici e che intendeva avviare il dialogo con l’Iran e Hamas. Così poneva fine al suo ruolo di capofila dei paesi arabi pragmatici allineati contro “l’asse del male”, e assestava il primo colpo alla sua alleanza con gli Stati Uniti. La scoperta di una cellula terroristica iraniana al Cairo ha però messo per il momento un alt a questo primo tentativo; il secondo è in corso per iniziativa del parlamento che sta per essere eletto, in cui i Fratelli Musulmani avranno la maggioranza. La Commissione degli Affari Esteri, il cui presidente, Issam Alarian è il numero due del Partito dei Fratelli, “Libertà e Giustizia”, ha dichiarato di voler riesaminare la relazione con l’Iran: nei prossimi giorni un’importante delegazione iraniana è attesa al Cairo. In presenza di numerosi uomini d’affari, la delegazione verrà per discutere su investimenti di circa cinque miliardi di dollari. Anche se questa cifra sembra improbabile, interpreta la volontà dell’Iran, che ha detto più volte di essere pronto a riannodare le relazioni diplomatiche con l’Egitto. Ci si sarebbe potuti attendere che la presa del potere al Cairo da parte di un’ organizzazione estremista sunnita – i Fratelli Musulmani- avrebbe esacerbato la rivalità con l’Iran, porta bandiera degli estremisti sciiti. Non è successo nulla di tutto questo, almeno per ora: un interesse islamico in comune e la necessità di trovare delle nuove risorse di assistenza in sostituzione degli aiuti americani, gioca a favore dell’Iran. Mubaraq vedeva nel gruppo di Hamas una reale minaccia per l’Egitto e si era sempre rifiutato di incontrare i membri di questa organizzazione . Oggi tutto è cambiato: Hamas, come dice la sua Costituzione, è una sezione dei Fratelli Musulmani, e ora è benvenuto al Cairo. I suoi dirigenti vi si incontrano spesso, così come i membri di Fatah, e Khaled Masha’al viene ricevuto dal maresciallo Tantawi. Bisogna aspettarsi un approccio supplementare nel momento in cui i Fratelli avranno formato il nuovo governo.
Siria
Sul fronte siriano l’Iran è ormai il solo paese della regione a sostenere Bashar Assad e a fornirgli apertamente armi e informazioni. Di recente due navi da guerra iraniane hanno attraversato il Canale di Suez in rotta verso il porto siriano di Tartous; durante la navigazione avevano fatto scalo a Gedda, in Arabia Saudita- paese che dichiaratamente vuole la caduta di Bashar Assad. D’altro canto la Russia e la Cina continuano a sostenere il dittatore siriano, rafforzando così la posizione dell’Iran. Se Assad cadesse- cosa assai probabile- sarà una grave perdita per l’Iran, per Hezbollah e per lo stesso Hamas; così l’Iran cerca contemporaneamente dei nuovi alleati nella regione.
Arabia Saudita
L’Arabia Saudita, amica e alleata da lungo tempo di Mubaraq, fa fatica a dissimulare la sua inquietudine. Da un lato la famiglia reale vive nel terrore di un sollevamento popolare; d’altro canto deve prendere in considerazione il tono sempre più minaccioso dell’Iran nei confronti degli Stati Uniti e dei suoi alleati del Golfo.Trovare un partner per sosituire l’Egitto nell’alleanza regionale è un’impresa difficile. I Sauditi hanno dapprima minacciato di sviluppare un loro programma nucleare se l’Iran non avesse messo termine al proprio; Teheran non si è dato neppure la pena di reagire. Hanno poi tentato di formare un blocco conservatore riunendo tutti i paesi membri del Consiglio di Cooperazione del Golfo, come la Giordania e il Marocco, ma il progetto è stato presto abbandonato poiché questi ultimi due paesi, troppo poveri, sarebbero diventati un peso per gli Emirati del Golfo. L’Arabia Saudita continua a opporsi a Teheran con tutte le sue forze, chiedendo alla Lega Araba di prendere delle misure più forti contro Assad, per proteggere le popolazioni sunnite contro gli Alawiti, ma soprattutto per indebolire l’Iran che ha bisogno del suo alleato siriano. Ma dato che la franchezza non esiste in Medio Oriente, la monarchia saudita aveva permesso, come abbiamo già detto, alle due navi da guerra iraniane, di gettare l’ancora a Gedda. Secondo il Ministero della Difesa saudita, questo permesso è stato concesso perché le navi erano in missione di addestramento (!) e per l’amicizia tradizionale tra i due popoli. Ricordiamoci che qualche settimana prima gli Americani avevano scoperto un complotto iraniano che tentava di assassinare l’ambasciatore saudita a Washington…
Qatar
E’ noto che la natura aborre il vuoto. Anche il Qatar, pur senza clamore, prende posizione e decuplica le sue attività. Dopo aver energicamente sostenuto l’iniziativa francese in Libia e aver inviato armi ai ribelli, starebbe continuando a fornirle al capo del consiglio militare di Tripoli, un islamista puro e duro, che sostiene i Fratelli Musulmani (il partito AINahada) che hanno vinto le elezioni in Tunisia. L’influente emittente televisiva “Al Jazeera” ,finanziata dall’emiro del Qatar, ha avuto il ruolo più importante nel mobilitare le folle durante le rivoluzioni in Tunisia, Egitto e Libia; oggi prende posizione a favore del rovesciamento di Bashar Assad, incoraggia la principale forza di opposizione guidata dai Fratelli Musulmani e richiede un intervento della Lega Araba e del Consiglio di Sicurezza. Il Qatar si sforza di prendere il posto lasciato vacante dall’Egitto, cercando di risolvere problemi regionali e internazionali.L’emirato è riuscito a ottenere un accordo tra il governo del Sudan e i ribelli del Darfur, e di recente tra Fatah e Hamas. Nella sua capitale, Doha, si svolgono numerosi seminari e conferenze internazionali. Tuttavia questo piccolo stato del Golfo, con una popolazione di 300.000 persone e un milione di immigrati di origine asiatica che lavorano in condizioni vicine alla schiavitù, non possiede né una lunga e significativa storia, né una rispettabile cultura tradizionale, né tantomeno un esercito forte. Se l’emiro è riuscito a innalzarsi a livello delle grandi potenze, è grazie all’emittente televisiva che ha creato e finanzia, ma anche grazie alla sua politica nei confronri dell' Occidente; in Francia lo si accusa di voler “conquistare”il paese. La trasformazione di questo piccolo, ma immensamente ricco, emirato arabo in attore di primo piano sulla scena internazionale, deve molto all’arrivo negli anni ’50 di moltissimi Fratelli Musulmani, fuggiti dall’Egitto dopo il loro fallito tentativo di assassinare Nasser. Hanno aiutato il paese a creare un sistema scolastico fondato sull’Islam più estremo, prima di avere una parte determinante nella fondazione di Al Jazeera. Il Qatar ha eccellenti rapporti con gli Stati Uniti, che dispongono di tre basi militari, eppure mantengono contatti con Al Qaeda i cui programmi e video vengono regolarmente trasmessi su Al Jazeera. E’ in cordiali rapporti con l’Iran e l’anno scorso, il comandante in capo del suo piccolo esercito, è stato in visita a Teheran. Ci si potrebbe allora domandare se questo paese, da più di mezzo secolo baluardo dei Fratelli Musulmani, sia una vera carta vincente per gli Usa, o piuttosto una specie di 'Quinta Colonna' che lavora per imporre l’Islam più radicale…
Conclusione
In ogni caso si sta delineando una salita al potere da parte dei Fratelli Musulmani. Dopo la loro vittoria in Egitto, Tunisia e Marocco, sperano di poter registrare una vittoria significativa anche nelle prossime elezioni di aprile in Algeria e di giugno in Libia. Si tratta di far “risuscitare”l’unione dei paesi del Magreb, creata nel 1989 e rimasta senza futuro per i numerosi conflitti sorti tra gli stati membri; oggi, è prevedibile, l’Islam potrebbe diventarne il collante. Resterebbe da sapere se la solidarietà islamica sarà capace di superare gli interessi economici e nazionali dei singoli stati. Dobbiamo abituarci a una situazione del tutto nuova. E’ finito il Medio Oriente di ieri con i suoi dittatori, è giunta la fine della spartizione della regione, tra paesi che affiancano l’Iran e quelli che sono alleati degli Stati Uniti. Si sta disegnando una nuova carta geopolitica, mentre la sorte della Siria è ancora incerta. Comunque, qualsiasi cosa succeda, questa nuova carta avrà i colori dell’Islam. Non sarà facile convincere i nuovi regimi che dovranno moderare il loro estremismo, se vorranno continuare a ricevere investimenti, prestiti e apporti tecnologici dall’Occidente.


Zvi Mazel è stato ambasciatore in Egitto, Romania e Svezia. Fa parte del Jerusalem Center fo Public Affairs. Collabora con Informazione Corretta