Hamas furious at Egyptian apartheid buffer zone in Rafah

Hamas is furious because Egypt is creating a buffer zone in Rafah between itself and Gaza, which will make smuggling tunnels much harder to dig and operate.

Ehab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that there
should be no buffer zones “between brothers and friendly
countries.”

Ghissin expressed hope that the Egyptian move would not
“solidify the blockade” and increase the

Jacoby: 'Never again' turns into 'yet again'

Jeff Jacoby explains how 'never again' is once again turning into 'yet again.'

“Can this really be happening? In the 21st century?” exclaimed the Israeli columnist Ari Shavit as news broke last week of the latest chemical-weapons attack in Syria. “No decent person can ignore what’s happening.”

That’s what we always tell ourselves when “never again” turns into
“yet again.” But man’s

Why Assad is winning and why America is letting it happen

This analysis by Michael Hirsh is largely correct. Bashar al-Assad is looking at what's happening in Egypt and realizing that there is no way that the United States is going to help depose him. And given the alternatives, maybe that's how it ought to be for now.

[T]his week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin
Dempsey, finally said plainly what Obama administration

Krauthammer: Obama's incoherence has made the US irrelevant in the Middle East

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer says that President Hussein Obama's incoherence has made the United States irrelevant in the Middle East.

“The only constant in all of this is Obama as a candidate, as a Senator,
decided we should be out of these wars, we should be out of the Middle
East, the tide of war is receding, he repeats it over and over again and
pretends it’s true,”

Egypt's message to the world

Please tell me that this picture - posted by Roger Simon - doesn't say it all:



Translation: Leave Islam out of the picture.

Last Jews in Egypt happy with army takeover

My grandmother a"h (peace be upon her) was in Israel in 1980 while I was studying in yeshiva. In the post-Camp David euphoria, she suggested that we visit Egypt together during my Pesach vacation. And so, we did. We flew Tel Aviv to Cairo on El Al, spent three days staying in the Sheharezade Hotel along the banks of the Nile (right near the 6th of October bridge you've all seen in the news and

US slams Erdogan's remarks

In an earlier post, I reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had claimed that Israel is behind the coup in Egypt. The United States has now condemned those remarks.

"We strongly condemn the statements that were made by Prime Minister
Erdogan today. Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent
events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," White

Why didn't we think of doing that? Oh wait, we did....

A lawsuit in an Egyptian court demands that Egypt stop supplying electricity to Gaza (link in Arabic, Google translation here).

The
lawyer submitted the lawsuit in its lawsuit, that Egypt exports of
electricity to the Gaza Strip at a time when the Egyptians suffered from
constant interruptions of electric current, and without regard to the
suffering of the Egyptians in the last period of

What's realistic and desirable in Egypt?

In the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens has it right.

Releasing deposed President Mohammed Morsi and other detained
Brotherhood leaders may be realistic, but it is not desirable—unless you
think Aleksandr Kerensky was smart to release the imprisoned Bolsheviks
after their abortive July 1917 uprising.

Restoring the dictatorship-in-the-making that was Mr. Morsi's elected
government is

Of course: Erdogan claims Israel behind 'coup' in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that Israel is behind the 'coup' that deposed Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy from the Presidency of Egypt.

“Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have
evidence,” Erdoğan told members of his party at a meeting in Ankara on
Tuesday. He cited a French intellectual, without mentioning his name,
who, according to Erdoğan, said in

'Hitler killed the Jews for his people, Sisi kills his people for the Jews'

This poster was seen at a demonstration on the Temple Mount on Friday (Hat Tip: Elder of Ziyon).



The caption in Arabic reads 'Hitler killed the Jews for his people, Sisi kills his people for the Jews.'

I can imagine the 'Palestinians' - God forbid - justifying the murder of Jews in the same way. It's being done for their 'people.'

But in fact, both sides in Egypt are blaming Israel for

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers/policemen killed in Rafah ambush

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers or policemen (the reports vary) have been killed in an ambush in Rafah, along the border between Egypt and Gaza. This is from the 'Palestinian' Maan News.

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants in an ambush on two buses in north Sinai on Monday.The
soldiers were reportedly executed by militants after being ordered to
leave the buses. The armed

Israel pushing United States to back Egyptian army?

In an earlier post, I reported that 'out friends the Saudis' were pushing the United States to continue to support the Egyptian army and that Israel was trying to stay out of the picture. Now, the New York Times reports that Israel is getting into the picture, and may begin openly pressing the United States to support the Egyptian army.

With the European Union planning an urgent review of its

Where is Israel's Tamarod?

Interesting comment from Dan Friedman in New York City.

There is something to be said for the anger and courage of the Egyptian
people. Even though their motivations, and their goals, may not be our own,
still, they are willing to give it their all. So where is Israel's Tamarod ("Rebel") movement? Where is Israel’s
appreciation that it has everything to lose if they stay on the current

Four common misconceptions about Egypt

The Sandmonkey has an interesting post that is addressed to Egyptians, but can help all of us to understand what is going on in that country.

1. The US is not against June 30 



There is a strong held belief in Egypt that the US is against the June 30th
alliance and government, and is waging war against it for the sake of
MB. Egyptians perceive US discussion about cutting military aid as

Must read: Crush the Muslim Brotherhood

Daniel Greenfield writes that the Egyptian army should not be stopped from destroying the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the streets of Egyptian cities, Muslim Brotherhood activists
achieved their highest hope. They died in their Jihad against the
liberal opposition and the military, fighting against human rights for
women and Christians, against multi-party rule, freedom of speech,
museums,

With Egypt turning to Russia, Western diplomats accuse Israel of 'undercutting' Obama

Violence continued in Egypt on Saturday, as the Egyptian army attempted to shut down the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptians are so frustrated with the Obama administration that they are sending a diplomatic mission to Moscow, possibly signalling the undoing of a 35-year alliance (Hat Tip: Weasel Zippers).

As the situation in Egypt escalates, a source with very close ties
to the Egyptian

What America's interest in Egypt ought to be

Stanley Kurtz urges the United States to give up its pipe dreams of democracy and to look out for its own interests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.

No peace without including the Muslim Brotherhood, which represents
so much of Egypt? Quite right. No peace. What this argument fails to
recognize is that the image of a national reconciliation that
encompasses all parties in Egypt —

Disturbing images from Egyptian riots

Once again, there are pitched battles between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohammed Morsy, on the one hand, and the Egyptian army, on the other hand. These images are from today (Friday).

Here's an image of a Morsy supporter carrying a gun in the middle of a demonstration in downtown Cairo.


And here are two images of Egyptians jumping off bridges in Cairo (and there's nothing

Obama golfs, Egypt burns

Hat Tip for the image to Now the End Begins via Jack W.

Jennifer Rubin sums up Egypt's civil war President Obama's monthly vacation.

Obama was briefed, said nothing and went back to golf. Secretary of
State John Kerry took a break from his fruitless obsession with the
nonexistent “peace process” to condemn the violence, but took no
questions and had no policy announcement. This, in a