Egypt in crisis over attack on Israeli embassy in Cairo

An Egyptian cabinet member says the country is in a deep crisis and those who ransacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo have hurt Egypt's image abroad.
Egypt is on alert after protesters stormed the Israeli embassy on Friday, prompting the evacuation of nearly all diplomatic personnel there.
Three people were killed when security forces moved in to deal with rioting.
State media say at least 448 people were injured in the clashes on Friday night and Saturday.
Information minister Osama Haikal says those responsible will be tried in emergency state security courts.


Demonstrators outside the Israeli embassy building in Cairo early on Saturday.
PHOTO: AFP

The BBC reports six members of the embassy staff were trapped inside the building during the riot and had to be rescued by Egyptian commandos.
The Israeli consul remains in Cairo as acting ambassador.
Daily protests have been held at the embassy since the killing of five Egyptian border guards in Sinai on 18 August.
Anti-Israeli feeling rose after an incident on the Gaza border last month.
Five Egyptian policemen were killed on 18 August when Israeli forces pursued Palestinians who had killed eight Israelis.
An Israeli official told the BBC that the intruders had entered consular offices, but not the main embassy.
After initially standing by, police moved against the protesters, firing tear gas. Several vehicles were set alight.
A BBC correspondent says the clashes at the embassy have shocked people both in Egypt and abroad.
Reports on State TV said Prime Minister Essam Sharaf had offered to step down but his resignation was refused by Field Marshal Tantawi, the country's military leader.
Under former President Hosni Mubarak, such violent displays of anger against Israel would not have been tolerated
The unrest began after Friday prayers, when thousands converged on Tahrir Square to demand faster political reforms following the ousting of Mr Mubarak in February.
Correspondents say tensions between Israel and Egypt have risen since President Mubarak was forced from office on 11 February.
Treaty implications
A treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed on 26 March 1979 by President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the White House and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter.
In a televised address in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will stick to the peace treaty with Egypt despite the attack.
''Israel will continue to hold fast to the peace accord with Egypt,'' Mr Netanyahu.
''We are working together with the Egyptian government to return our ambassador to Cairo soon.
''I would like to ensure that the security arrangements necessary for him and for our staff will be steadfast.
Mr Netanyahu also thanked President Barack Obama for American help to evacuate the embassy.
''He (Mr Obama) said, 'I will do all that I can.' He did that. He applied all of the means and influence of the United States of America, which are certainly substantial.''

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/84840/egypt-in-crisis-over-attack-on-israeli-embassy-in-cairo

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Why do riots start so often "after the Friday prayers"? Seems like the same thing keeps happening in many countries. Coincidence? Religion has nothing to do with it?

 

Arab Spring myth exposed
Op-ed: West faces quickly radicalizing Mideast after foolishly lauding Arab uprisings

IDF Major General Eyal Eisenberg warned last week that the so-called “Arab Spring” may ultimately turn into a “radical Islamic winter.” Recent events in Egypt and elsewhere in the region indicate that this grim assessment is materializing at a rapid pace right before our eyes.

Foolish Western observers who lauded the “great revolutions” sweeping the Middle East have displayed profound ignorance, failing to comprehend that the region is woefully unprepared for democracy. In this respect, the downfall of brutal tyrants – a pleasing development in and of itself - is worthless if followed by greater evils.

Regrettably, the growing Mideastern chaos has shattered any semblance of regional stability, allowing the darkest, most radical forces to erupt and increasingly set the tone. What we saw in Egypt over the weekend was merely the beginning. Much worse is yet to come.

Arab affairs expert Guy Bechor notes that the siege and near-lynch at Israel’s Cairo embassy is first and foremost a domestic affair, reflecting the great deterioration on Egypt’s streets. The orgy of violence and lawlessness we witnessed marks the rise of Islamists and street thugs and the State’s declining ability to impose law and order.

While Egypt’s misfortune may hold grave regional and global implications, the first to pay the price for this tragedy will be ordinary Egyptians. Hence, it is no wonder that one of the revolution’s symbols, Wael Ghonim, said over the weekend that "what we are witnessing now is contrary to what I dreamt of. We need to wake up quickly.” Unfortunately for him, he and his countrymen are already deeply embroiled in a nightmare.

The Palestine lesson
Egypt is of course not the only state where chaos reigns supreme ahead of an uncertain, frightening future. In Libya, rebels are dusting off what’s left of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, under the leadership of none other than “former Jihadist” Abdel Hakim Belhaj. The Islamic militant has downplayed his past, insisting that he seeks no revenge despite the torture he experienced in prison courtesy of the West. How sincere are his words? Only time will tell.

What is certain, however, is that the post-revolution Tripoli has already become a menace to regional stability. Last week, Israeli officials warned that Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya. Meanwhile, the European Union’s counter-terrorism’s chief warned that al-Qaeda may have also secured arms looted in the Libyan conflict, including surface-to-air missiles that could threaten commercial airliners.

Europe’s Terror Chief Gilles de Kerchove went even further, stressing that “democracy does not happen overnight” and cautioning that the string of Arab world uprisings has “provided a huge opportunity for al-Qaeda to re-energize.” Such warnings would have been much more meaningful six months ago, but at the time much of the West was celebrating the “imminent rise of Mideastern democracies.”

The failure to predict the Arab Spring’s grim outcome is a huge fiasco, especially as the ensuing calamity should have been patently clear to anyone with minimal understanding of our volatile region. Yet as is often the case, many in Europe and America chose to put their trust in empty words and cheerful notions completely detached from reality, while dismissing common sense and the Arab world’s history and tradition. They too will be paying the price sooner or later.

The lesson learned from the Arab Spring is particularly relevant this month as the Palestinians prepare to submit their UN statehood bid. This too is an obvious case of pretty rhetoric masking bleak realities on the ground. The Palestinian entity in the West Bank does not meet the minimal criteria for viable statehood, with global recognition likely paving the way for a failed, terrorist state on Israel’s doorstep. Will the world be wise enough to avert such catastrophe? Sadly, the Arab Spring debacle leaves little room for optimism.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4120426,00.html

 

duplicate

 

I guess you mean the op-ed piece? Because it was certainly not left out in the first article I posted.

But "getting angry" (as Van Gundier is trying to downplay it) and ransacking a foreign embassy, threatening to murder the people inside, etc., are different things.