Israel Places Resources at Suleiman’s Disposal “To Protect the Egyptian Regime”
CURRENT AFFAIRS, 7 Feb 2011
Middle East Monitor – TRANSCEND Media Service
Well-placed Israeli sources have disclosed that the Zionist state has offered to place “all its capabilities” at the disposal of General Omar Suleiman, the recently appointed Vice President of Egypt, for the “protection of the regime in Egypt”. This offer includes the implementation of “various operations to end the popular revolution”. Israel has also asked Suleiman to work on preventing arms being smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
An official in Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called Suleiman, who is also the director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, and expressed his concern about the situation in Egypt. Netanyahu apparently suggested the possibility of Israeli intelligence personnel undertaking various specialist operations to bring an end to the demonstrations. The source added that Netanyahu and Suleiman also discussed ways of securing the border between Israel and Egypt.
The Hebrew newspaper Ma’ariv revealed that in recent days highly placed individuals in Netanyahu’s office have conducted a series of telephone conversations with Suleiman to impress on the Vice President the necessity of coordinating on security with Israel. The telephone conversations were described as “urgent” and were designed to alert the Egyptians about the consequences of losing control of the tunnels described by many as Gaza’s “lifeline” during the Israeli blockade. Israel is, claims Ma’ariv, concerned about increased activity in the tunnels “given the developments in progress inside Egypt” which have seen the Egyptian army “softening its anti-smuggling activities”. In addition, it is claimed that there has been an increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering Israel from Egyptian territory.
Sources inside the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel does not rule out General Suleiman “sacrificing his ties to Israel in order to satisfy the Egyptian street and bestow a measure of legitimacy on his appointment in the general opinion of the public”. Suleiman maintains strong ties with Israeli officials and was responsible for several files linked to the Zionist state, including those relating to the ceasefire and a possible prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
Go to Original – middleeastmonitor.org
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.