11 dec 2013
More than 170 Syrian and Palestinian refugees held since October in Egyptian police stations were released on Tuesday and granted temporary permits to stay in Egypt, a government spokesman said. Egypt tightened its open-door visa policy for Syrians fleeing civil war soon after the military ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in a coup in July. Arrests and deportations of refugees, some of whom had not formalized their stays, followed.
The refugees released on Tuesday had been trying to leave Egypt illegally by boat when authorities detained them, according to the Egyptian authorities.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said 171 of 206 Syrian and Palestinian "illegal immigrants" had been granted three-month visas, while the cases of the remaining 35 still in detention were under review.
Authorities have apprehended about 1,500 Syrian refugees in the last few months and about 1,200 of them have been "coerced to leave", according to Human Rights Watch.
Although courts had ordered the release of all 206 Syrians and Palestinians in detention, the authorities had previously said they were still being held for immigration violations.
In one police station, dozens of refugees staged a hunger strike last month to draw attention to their plight, but called it off after 10 days.
About 300,000 of the 2.3 million refugees fleeing Syria went to Egypt, where they were received warmly during Morsi's year in office. His removal changed the atmosphere, with Egyptian media accusing Syrians and Palestinians of being Morsi supporters.
The United Nations refugee agency says Egypt has refused to let it register Palestinians from Syria as refugees and give them the yellow card that allows them temporary residence.
Tamara El Rifai of Human Rights Watch said the U.S.-based group welcomed Tuesday's release, but called for the government to allow UNHCR to register the Syrians of Palestinian origin.
"We are looking for a concerted solution between the authorities, the U.N., and other countries willing to step up," she said.
The refugees released on Tuesday had been trying to leave Egypt illegally by boat when authorities detained them, according to the Egyptian authorities.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said 171 of 206 Syrian and Palestinian "illegal immigrants" had been granted three-month visas, while the cases of the remaining 35 still in detention were under review.
Authorities have apprehended about 1,500 Syrian refugees in the last few months and about 1,200 of them have been "coerced to leave", according to Human Rights Watch.
Although courts had ordered the release of all 206 Syrians and Palestinians in detention, the authorities had previously said they were still being held for immigration violations.
In one police station, dozens of refugees staged a hunger strike last month to draw attention to their plight, but called it off after 10 days.
About 300,000 of the 2.3 million refugees fleeing Syria went to Egypt, where they were received warmly during Morsi's year in office. His removal changed the atmosphere, with Egyptian media accusing Syrians and Palestinians of being Morsi supporters.
The United Nations refugee agency says Egypt has refused to let it register Palestinians from Syria as refugees and give them the yellow card that allows them temporary residence.
Tamara El Rifai of Human Rights Watch said the U.S.-based group welcomed Tuesday's release, but called for the government to allow UNHCR to register the Syrians of Palestinian origin.
"We are looking for a concerted solution between the authorities, the U.N., and other countries willing to step up," she said.
5 dec 2013
Friends of Humanity International (FHI) called on Egyptian authorities to stop "unfair persecution and arrest campaigns" against Syrian and Palestinian refugees fleeing from Syria to Egypt. The international organization noted that the Egyptian arrest campaign against Syria's refugees has been continuing since early July and has escalated since Sunday morning.
The Vienna-based organization stated that the raid and arrest campaigns targeted neighborhoods and buildings sheltering the refugees.
The human rights organization said that Egypt has detained nearly 1,200 refugees from Syria, including children, elderly people and women in different prisons throughout Egyptian territories suffering very poor detention conditions.
Serious violations were reported in Egyptian detention centers against the detained Palestinian and Syrian refugees including abuses, harsh treatment, harassment and insults, the organization added.
FHI documented cases of sexual harassment against Syrian and Palestinian refugees by Egyptian prison officers.
It called on Egyptian authorities to act urgently to stop such violations and to open an immediate investigation into the documented cases.
Egyptian authorities do not provide the refugees with any human basic needs including food or aid supplies offered by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the statement affirmed.
It pointed out that 1,150 refugees were forcibly deported to Syria since early July in violation of international convention and laws.
The organization stated that Egyptian deportation policy against Palestinian and Syrian refugees came in flagrant violation of Arts. 31, 32 and 33 of the United Nations Convention of 1951 relating to the Status of Refugee that oblige the contracting states not to expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened.
FHI called on Egyptian authorities to comply with all the terms of the International Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to open investigation into the serious violations in its prisons and detention centers against Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
The Vienna-based organization stated that the raid and arrest campaigns targeted neighborhoods and buildings sheltering the refugees.
The human rights organization said that Egypt has detained nearly 1,200 refugees from Syria, including children, elderly people and women in different prisons throughout Egyptian territories suffering very poor detention conditions.
Serious violations were reported in Egyptian detention centers against the detained Palestinian and Syrian refugees including abuses, harsh treatment, harassment and insults, the organization added.
FHI documented cases of sexual harassment against Syrian and Palestinian refugees by Egyptian prison officers.
It called on Egyptian authorities to act urgently to stop such violations and to open an immediate investigation into the documented cases.
Egyptian authorities do not provide the refugees with any human basic needs including food or aid supplies offered by UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the statement affirmed.
It pointed out that 1,150 refugees were forcibly deported to Syria since early July in violation of international convention and laws.
The organization stated that Egyptian deportation policy against Palestinian and Syrian refugees came in flagrant violation of Arts. 31, 32 and 33 of the United Nations Convention of 1951 relating to the Status of Refugee that oblige the contracting states not to expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened.
FHI called on Egyptian authorities to comply with all the terms of the International Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to open investigation into the serious violations in its prisons and detention centers against Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya said that the Palestinian people are on the threshold of a new intifada (uprising), expressing his strong belief that its harbingers are looming on the horizon in the West Bank and Jerusalem. In remarks during his visit to the council of Shariah courts in Gaza on Wednesday, premier Haneyya stated that the Palestinian people would not yield to the Israeli attempts to change the identity of their land and holy sites.
He stressed that the Jerusalemite people defend the Aqsa Mosque on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Arab and Muslim nations, hailing their steadfastness in the face of the occupation and their success in thwarting the recent attempts by Jewish settlers to bring a candelabrum (menorah) into the Aqsa Mosque.
The premier, in another context, called on the Egyptian authorities to release the Palestinian and Syrian detainees in their prisons, reiterating that the gates of Gaza are widely open before the Syrian refugees.
The premier also hailed the Shariah judicial authority in Gaza for its accomplishments, affirming that it managed to achieve legal justice and the social security.
He added that the courts in Gaza succeeded in diminishing the divorce rate and promoting moral values among the Gazan society.
He stressed that the Jerusalemite people defend the Aqsa Mosque on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Arab and Muslim nations, hailing their steadfastness in the face of the occupation and their success in thwarting the recent attempts by Jewish settlers to bring a candelabrum (menorah) into the Aqsa Mosque.
The premier, in another context, called on the Egyptian authorities to release the Palestinian and Syrian detainees in their prisons, reiterating that the gates of Gaza are widely open before the Syrian refugees.
The premier also hailed the Shariah judicial authority in Gaza for its accomplishments, affirming that it managed to achieve legal justice and the social security.
He added that the courts in Gaza succeeded in diminishing the divorce rate and promoting moral values among the Gazan society.
Ministry of interior and national security in Gaza said in a statement that the Strip’s borders with Egypt were secured and under strict monitoring and control. The ministry said on Wednesday that the Egyptian military spokesman’s statement about aborting an attempt by armed men from Gaza to blow up an Egyptian military watchtower on the borders was not true.
It said that the charge fell in line with the systematic lies being voiced every now and then to justify the siege on the coastal enclave.
The ministry asked the Egyptian authorities to stop such scandalous methods, as no proof was established about Gaza involvement in any events in Egypt.
In another incident, spokesman for Hamas movement Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri refuted claims by retired Egyptian army general Nabil Abul Najja who claimed that Hisham Al-Su’edni, who lives in Gaza, was masterminding attacks in Sinai Peninsula.
Abu Zuhri said that Su’edni was killed in an Israeli air raid on 14/10/2012. He asked the Egyptian media and the military to stop their campaign of fabrications against the Palestinian people and resistance.
It said that the charge fell in line with the systematic lies being voiced every now and then to justify the siege on the coastal enclave.
The ministry asked the Egyptian authorities to stop such scandalous methods, as no proof was established about Gaza involvement in any events in Egypt.
In another incident, spokesman for Hamas movement Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri refuted claims by retired Egyptian army general Nabil Abul Najja who claimed that Hisham Al-Su’edni, who lives in Gaza, was masterminding attacks in Sinai Peninsula.
Abu Zuhri said that Su’edni was killed in an Israeli air raid on 14/10/2012. He asked the Egyptian media and the military to stop their campaign of fabrications against the Palestinian people and resistance.
4 dec 2013
By Khalid Amayreh
Flying in the face of common sense, some Egyptian officials have been claiming that the new "constitution,” written by liberals, secularists and other enemies of the Islamic faith, is one of the most democratic in the world.
It is uncertain if these idiots know what they are talking about. It could be they are in the throes of senility or pre-senility. What is amply clear though is that their tongues seem to function much more swiftly than their brains do.
The truth of the matter is that the new constitution conspicuously lacks the dignity and representative nature that would make it acceptable to the vast majority of Egyptians.
First of all, the deformed document was prepared by unelected people picked to do the dirty job by Abdul Fattah al Sisi, the mass murderer and charlatan general who ordered the killing of thousands of his own people for peacefully protesting the ouster of the democratically-elected president Muhammad Mursi.
Following the downfall of Husni Mubarak, the Islamists of Egypt won elections three times and the secularists lost elections three times. Following the bloody ouster of Mursi, the losers were selected to re-write the constitution, which passed earlier in a public referendum by 65% of the people of Egypt.
The aim of the present deformed document is not to lay the foundation for true democratic life in the largest Arab country. It is rather to effect progressive de-Islamization for the satisfaction of Israel and a small minority of Egyptian intellectual who represent the so-called "deep state".
The deep state is symbolized by the notoriously corrupt armed forces which control up to 40% of the Egyptian economy. Hence, the fierce and vehement opposition to true democracy, since true democracy would eventually deprive the army of its business empire and make it answerable to elected civilian rulers.
This is why the new deformed document called constitution sanctions the dominant role of the army in political life as it allows the army, not the elected political leadership, to appoint the Defense Minister, and determine the military budget, which is a military secret.
Furthermore, the despicable document allows the armed forces to prosecute civilians, which means that Egypt will be a military fascism by law. More to the point, the new deformed document, which apparently has less dignity than a toilet paper, makes any protest or demonstration contingent on the mood and whims of the fascist junta. If they felt like allowing it, they would. Otherwise they would say "No".
The filthy document bans any political activities, e.g. political parties, based on Islam, although it states in article-2 that Islam is state religion. Well, if Islam is that evil and that dangerous, then why make it state religion in the first place? And if it is not dirty or dangerous, why ban political parties based on it? This is really a scandalous paradox.
Moreover, it is more than scandalous to ban political parties based on Islam in a country where Muslims constitute more than 95% of the population. Indeed, the depravity and wickedness of those who wrote the ugly document cry out to the seventh heaven. Indeed, one might ask the following question: Must 95% of the Egyptian people who adhere to the Islamic faith convert to Coptic Christianity and worship three or four gods in order to qualify for participation in political life in the Sisi republic?
This is why the charlatan’s rule must be eradicated, the sooner the better. It is a malignant cancer upon the collective conscience of all Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims as well as free men and women around the world.
It should be amply clear that the new dirty document, prepared by hate-filled idiots with no conscience, honesty or rectitude, is mainly designed to minimize Islamic participation in political life.
In the final analysis, according to the dirty document, Communists can take part in political life based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology. Liberals can take part in political life based on the Libertarian philosophy, even sexually perverted people can form political parties based on the concept of "sexual liberty." Christians, too, can form political parties based on the Christian belief of ""Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" .
Only Islamists are denied the natural, God-given right to take part in political life based on Islam.
We, Muslims, will not allow this scandal to pass. We will sacrifice blood and soul for our liberty. The days when a bankrupt army general could impose his will on millions of people are over.
A final word to the so-called free world which is watching this infamy unfolds in a country that lives on handouts. If the world community is serious about democracy, it should really make it abundantly clear to the barbarian coup makers that fascism won't be tolerated.
This is the very least the world community should do in order to minimize the prospects of bloodshed in this part of the world.
I am confident that most Egyptians will tear up the dirty document to smithereens if given the opportunity to do so. Part II of my article "undemocratic constitution par excellence"
Flying in the face of common sense, some Egyptian officials have been claiming that the new "constitution,” written by liberals, secularists and other enemies of the Islamic faith, is one of the most democratic in the world.
It is uncertain if these idiots know what they are talking about. It could be they are in the throes of senility or pre-senility. What is amply clear though is that their tongues seem to function much more swiftly than their brains do.
The truth of the matter is that the new constitution conspicuously lacks the dignity and representative nature that would make it acceptable to the vast majority of Egyptians.
First of all, the deformed document was prepared by unelected people picked to do the dirty job by Abdul Fattah al Sisi, the mass murderer and charlatan general who ordered the killing of thousands of his own people for peacefully protesting the ouster of the democratically-elected president Muhammad Mursi.
Following the downfall of Husni Mubarak, the Islamists of Egypt won elections three times and the secularists lost elections three times. Following the bloody ouster of Mursi, the losers were selected to re-write the constitution, which passed earlier in a public referendum by 65% of the people of Egypt.
The aim of the present deformed document is not to lay the foundation for true democratic life in the largest Arab country. It is rather to effect progressive de-Islamization for the satisfaction of Israel and a small minority of Egyptian intellectual who represent the so-called "deep state".
The deep state is symbolized by the notoriously corrupt armed forces which control up to 40% of the Egyptian economy. Hence, the fierce and vehement opposition to true democracy, since true democracy would eventually deprive the army of its business empire and make it answerable to elected civilian rulers.
This is why the new deformed document called constitution sanctions the dominant role of the army in political life as it allows the army, not the elected political leadership, to appoint the Defense Minister, and determine the military budget, which is a military secret.
Furthermore, the despicable document allows the armed forces to prosecute civilians, which means that Egypt will be a military fascism by law. More to the point, the new deformed document, which apparently has less dignity than a toilet paper, makes any protest or demonstration contingent on the mood and whims of the fascist junta. If they felt like allowing it, they would. Otherwise they would say "No".
The filthy document bans any political activities, e.g. political parties, based on Islam, although it states in article-2 that Islam is state religion. Well, if Islam is that evil and that dangerous, then why make it state religion in the first place? And if it is not dirty or dangerous, why ban political parties based on it? This is really a scandalous paradox.
Moreover, it is more than scandalous to ban political parties based on Islam in a country where Muslims constitute more than 95% of the population. Indeed, the depravity and wickedness of those who wrote the ugly document cry out to the seventh heaven. Indeed, one might ask the following question: Must 95% of the Egyptian people who adhere to the Islamic faith convert to Coptic Christianity and worship three or four gods in order to qualify for participation in political life in the Sisi republic?
This is why the charlatan’s rule must be eradicated, the sooner the better. It is a malignant cancer upon the collective conscience of all Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims as well as free men and women around the world.
It should be amply clear that the new dirty document, prepared by hate-filled idiots with no conscience, honesty or rectitude, is mainly designed to minimize Islamic participation in political life.
In the final analysis, according to the dirty document, Communists can take part in political life based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology. Liberals can take part in political life based on the Libertarian philosophy, even sexually perverted people can form political parties based on the concept of "sexual liberty." Christians, too, can form political parties based on the Christian belief of ""Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" .
Only Islamists are denied the natural, God-given right to take part in political life based on Islam.
We, Muslims, will not allow this scandal to pass. We will sacrifice blood and soul for our liberty. The days when a bankrupt army general could impose his will on millions of people are over.
A final word to the so-called free world which is watching this infamy unfolds in a country that lives on handouts. If the world community is serious about democracy, it should really make it abundantly clear to the barbarian coup makers that fascism won't be tolerated.
This is the very least the world community should do in order to minimize the prospects of bloodshed in this part of the world.
I am confident that most Egyptians will tear up the dirty document to smithereens if given the opportunity to do so. Part II of my article "undemocratic constitution par excellence"
Egyptian authorities launched arrest campaigns against Palestinian refugees fleeing from the ongoing conflict in Syria to Egypt over the three last days. Cairo justifies the campaigns saying that Palestinian refugees do not have residence permits in Egypt, and at the same time it refuses to grant Palestinian and Syrian refugees residence permits, one of the refugees said. Egyptian human rights sources said that this campaign has no legal basis.
The London-based Action Group for Palestinian refugees in Syria said on Tuesday that the Egyptian authorities' arrest campaign came in total violation of international laws and conventions that oblige the protection of refugees fleeing from war and seeking refuge.
It charged that the Egyptian attempt to deport Syrian and Palestinian refugees against their will back to Syria are considered a flagrant violation of the refugees’ basic human rights.
Sources said that Egypt had detained over 1,500 refugees from Syria, including at least 400 Palestinians and 250 children as young as two months old, for weeks and sometimes months. Serious violations were reported in Egyptian detention centers against the Palestinian and Syrian refugees including sexual harassment, abuses, and poor treatment.
The London-based Action Group for Palestinian refugees in Syria said on Tuesday that the Egyptian authorities' arrest campaign came in total violation of international laws and conventions that oblige the protection of refugees fleeing from war and seeking refuge.
It charged that the Egyptian attempt to deport Syrian and Palestinian refugees against their will back to Syria are considered a flagrant violation of the refugees’ basic human rights.
Sources said that Egypt had detained over 1,500 refugees from Syria, including at least 400 Palestinians and 250 children as young as two months old, for weeks and sometimes months. Serious violations were reported in Egyptian detention centers against the Palestinian and Syrian refugees including sexual harassment, abuses, and poor treatment.
2 dec 2013
By Khalid Amayreh
A group of 50 vehemently anti-Islam liberals and secularists have completed drafting Egypt's coup-era constitution, apparently designed to minimize Islamic participation in political life.
The 50 unelected members tasked with re-writing the constitution represent a tiny minority of Egyptians. Most of these idiots were carefully selected for their vindictiveness and hostility to Islam by the murderous coup-makers headed by Abdul Fattah Sisi, who deposed the democratically elected president Muhammed Mursi.
The document is slated to be submitted to Adly Mansour, the unelected figurehead President, also installed by Sisi.
Interestingly, it was Mansour who presided over the Constitutional Court, which dissolved the Egyptian Lower House of Parliament following the huge victory by the Islamists and the huge defeat incurred by the secularists and liberals, the very people now tasked by the military to write the new constitution.
A referendum to approve the new constitution is scheduled for January 2014. However, it is highly likely that the new constitution will be rejected by a solid majority of Egyptians. This is why; many observers and political analysts expect the military coup authorities to falsify the referendum result in order to have the constitution approved by hook or by crook.
In the final analysis, the argument goes; those who murdered thousands of innocent Egyptians in cold blood and toppled the only democratically-elected president in Egypt's entire history cannot be entrusted to conduct free and honest elections. Murderers are also liars.
There is no doubt that this constitution will not live long, even if passed by a slim majority as a result of vote rigging and other falsifications. The reason for this is simple. The document is scandalously inconsistent and fraught with self-contradictions.
For example, the second article of the constitution states that Islam is state religion. However, another article states that no political party will be formed on the basis of Islam.
One article states that freedom of religion or faith is absolute. However, Muslims (but not Christians) are not allowed to vote for political parties or candidates with an Islamic platform. So how can a Muslim (95% of Egyptians are Muslims) practice his faith freely if he or she must vote for atheistic and other un-Islamic parties? Or is the democratic process to be confined to less than 5% of the people of Egypt, namely the Copts and secularists and other enemies of Islam?
In other words, would Muslims in Egypt have to effectively renounce their faith in order to be able to take part in the democratic process? This is a question that must be answered honestly and thoroughly, especially by those who insist that the Sisi gang should be given a chance.
Similarly, according to the new constitution, every conceivable group of people, with the exception of Muslims, has the right to form political parties and contest elections. Indeed, in order to be legal and allowed to function, a given political party would have to be based on atheism, secularism, socialism, sexual perversion, or what have you.
The important thing is that no party should have an Islamic identity or platform. Yet, the barking dogs of Egypt's military junta don't stop claiming that the deformed constitution is the most democratic in the entire world.
In addition to its explicit anti-Islam features, the new constitution sanctions authoritarianism and fascistic despotism. For example, the new document authorizes the government to have the final say on whether to allow people to demonstrate or protest grievances. In other words, only pro-government demonstrations are to be allowed. And in case anti-government protests were allowed, the government would have the right to choose the time and place of the demonstration and also determine the number of people taking part in it.
More to the point, the military retains the right to prosecute civilians, which corrodes the entire democratic system, eviscerating it of any real content.
There is no doubt that the deformed document called "constitution" is a prescription for continued instability, turmoil and even civil war in Egypt. I hope that the Egyptian people, if allowed to voice their true opinions, will consign this dishonorable and undignified document to where it belongs, the dustbin of history.
A group of 50 vehemently anti-Islam liberals and secularists have completed drafting Egypt's coup-era constitution, apparently designed to minimize Islamic participation in political life.
The 50 unelected members tasked with re-writing the constitution represent a tiny minority of Egyptians. Most of these idiots were carefully selected for their vindictiveness and hostility to Islam by the murderous coup-makers headed by Abdul Fattah Sisi, who deposed the democratically elected president Muhammed Mursi.
The document is slated to be submitted to Adly Mansour, the unelected figurehead President, also installed by Sisi.
Interestingly, it was Mansour who presided over the Constitutional Court, which dissolved the Egyptian Lower House of Parliament following the huge victory by the Islamists and the huge defeat incurred by the secularists and liberals, the very people now tasked by the military to write the new constitution.
A referendum to approve the new constitution is scheduled for January 2014. However, it is highly likely that the new constitution will be rejected by a solid majority of Egyptians. This is why; many observers and political analysts expect the military coup authorities to falsify the referendum result in order to have the constitution approved by hook or by crook.
In the final analysis, the argument goes; those who murdered thousands of innocent Egyptians in cold blood and toppled the only democratically-elected president in Egypt's entire history cannot be entrusted to conduct free and honest elections. Murderers are also liars.
There is no doubt that this constitution will not live long, even if passed by a slim majority as a result of vote rigging and other falsifications. The reason for this is simple. The document is scandalously inconsistent and fraught with self-contradictions.
For example, the second article of the constitution states that Islam is state religion. However, another article states that no political party will be formed on the basis of Islam.
One article states that freedom of religion or faith is absolute. However, Muslims (but not Christians) are not allowed to vote for political parties or candidates with an Islamic platform. So how can a Muslim (95% of Egyptians are Muslims) practice his faith freely if he or she must vote for atheistic and other un-Islamic parties? Or is the democratic process to be confined to less than 5% of the people of Egypt, namely the Copts and secularists and other enemies of Islam?
In other words, would Muslims in Egypt have to effectively renounce their faith in order to be able to take part in the democratic process? This is a question that must be answered honestly and thoroughly, especially by those who insist that the Sisi gang should be given a chance.
Similarly, according to the new constitution, every conceivable group of people, with the exception of Muslims, has the right to form political parties and contest elections. Indeed, in order to be legal and allowed to function, a given political party would have to be based on atheism, secularism, socialism, sexual perversion, or what have you.
The important thing is that no party should have an Islamic identity or platform. Yet, the barking dogs of Egypt's military junta don't stop claiming that the deformed constitution is the most democratic in the entire world.
In addition to its explicit anti-Islam features, the new constitution sanctions authoritarianism and fascistic despotism. For example, the new document authorizes the government to have the final say on whether to allow people to demonstrate or protest grievances. In other words, only pro-government demonstrations are to be allowed. And in case anti-government protests were allowed, the government would have the right to choose the time and place of the demonstration and also determine the number of people taking part in it.
More to the point, the military retains the right to prosecute civilians, which corrodes the entire democratic system, eviscerating it of any real content.
There is no doubt that the deformed document called "constitution" is a prescription for continued instability, turmoil and even civil war in Egypt. I hope that the Egyptian people, if allowed to voice their true opinions, will consign this dishonorable and undignified document to where it belongs, the dustbin of history.
1 dec 2013
Member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat Resheq asked the Egyptian authorities to clarify the news stories about cases of sexual harassment against Palestinian and Syrian refugee women detained in Egyptian jails. Resheq called in a press statement on Sunday for the release of all Palestinian and Syrian detainees in Egypt, and asked Cairo "to investigate and to hold accountable all those involved in the crime of harassment against refugee women in the Egyptian prisons."
In another incident involving refugees, Palestinian activists in Syria said that four Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk Camp (south of the capital Damascus) were killed in shelling targeting the camp for several months.
Action group for Palestinians in Syria said in a press release on Saturday that Ahmed Ouda from the Yarmouk refugee camp was shot dead on Friday night during his participation in a march calling for lifting the blockade imposed by the regular army on the camp.
It added that Muhammad Tanatrah was also killed by mortar fire that targeted the Maskiya neighborhood, while another young man died of wounds sustained a few days ago, in light of the absence of necessary medical care.
The group pointed out that a fourth Palestinian youth died on Friday night from wounds sustained in the bombing that targeted the neighborhood of al-Hajar al-Aswad adjacent to the Yarmouk camp.
In another incident involving refugees, Palestinian activists in Syria said that four Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk Camp (south of the capital Damascus) were killed in shelling targeting the camp for several months.
Action group for Palestinians in Syria said in a press release on Saturday that Ahmed Ouda from the Yarmouk refugee camp was shot dead on Friday night during his participation in a march calling for lifting the blockade imposed by the regular army on the camp.
It added that Muhammad Tanatrah was also killed by mortar fire that targeted the Maskiya neighborhood, while another young man died of wounds sustained a few days ago, in light of the absence of necessary medical care.
The group pointed out that a fourth Palestinian youth died on Friday night from wounds sustained in the bombing that targeted the neighborhood of al-Hajar al-Aswad adjacent to the Yarmouk camp.
Dozens of Palestinian and Syrian refugees crammed inside a room at Egyptian detention center
52 Palestinian and Syrian refugees, who fled the Syrian war to Egypt, entered on Saturday their ninth day of hunger strike in the prison of the Montaza police station in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
The hunger strikers aim to demand the European states to receive them and secure decent lives for their children.
Spokesman for the hunger strikers Abu Alaa Hafyan told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the Palestinians and Syrians fleeing the Syrian war are not treated as refugees by the Egyptian authorities and instead they are exposed to detention and maltreatment.
Hafyan affirmed that all the refugees in the Montaza police station suffer along with their families from bad incarceration conditions.
"We are enduring a tragic situation. There are children, women and elders with us. Since last September 17, or 78 days, we have been suffering from alienation and deprivation, the alienation of being displaced from our homes in Syria and the status of being deprived of everything in Egypt," the spokesman of the hunger strikers affirmed.
He said that the detainees in this prison started their hunger strike nine days ago to urge the European countries, which recently declared their readiness to receive them along with their families, to immediately translate their words into action.
52 Palestinian and Syrian refugees, who fled the Syrian war to Egypt, entered on Saturday their ninth day of hunger strike in the prison of the Montaza police station in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
The hunger strikers aim to demand the European states to receive them and secure decent lives for their children.
Spokesman for the hunger strikers Abu Alaa Hafyan told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the Palestinians and Syrians fleeing the Syrian war are not treated as refugees by the Egyptian authorities and instead they are exposed to detention and maltreatment.
Hafyan affirmed that all the refugees in the Montaza police station suffer along with their families from bad incarceration conditions.
"We are enduring a tragic situation. There are children, women and elders with us. Since last September 17, or 78 days, we have been suffering from alienation and deprivation, the alienation of being displaced from our homes in Syria and the status of being deprived of everything in Egypt," the spokesman of the hunger strikers affirmed.
He said that the detainees in this prison started their hunger strike nine days ago to urge the European countries, which recently declared their readiness to receive them along with their families, to immediately translate their words into action.
28 nov 2013
Refugees from Syria sleeping on the floor at Montaza 2nd police detention center in Alexandria
The action group for the Palestinians in Syria strongly denounced what it described as the serious violations that are committed by Egyptian jailers against many Palestinian women who fled to Egypt from the war-torn Syria and were kidnapped and jailed by the Egyptian security apparatuses.
In a report, the group affirmed that all the Palestinian female detainees in Egypt are exposed to systematic sexual harassment by Egyptian prison officers and jailers.
The group added that the Palestinian refugees in Egypt's jails are being held under inhumane incarceration conditions, and exposed to excruciating torture and maltreatment.
The group slammed the Palestinian Authority embassy in Cairo for ignoring the issue of about 296 Palestinian refugees who were arrested by the Egyptian security apparatuses after they took refuge in the Egyptian territories from the war raging in Syria.
The group said that the PA's indifference to the affairs of its citizens in Egypt confirmed further its keenness on its own interests with the Egyptian military regime over the interests of its people and their suffering.
The group appealed to the international community to open an investigation into the exposure of Palestinian refugees to sexual harassment and torture in Egyptian jails, and held the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) responsible for the international silence on the reported violations committed against the Palestinians in Egypt.
For his part, member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk strongly criticized the persistent Egyptian media incitement against his Movement and the Palestinians and described it as reprehensible and unjustified.
"What could be possibly achieved from such incitement and repeated fabrications against Hamas and the Gaza Strip," Abu Marzouk said on his facebook page on Wednesday.
He stressed that accusing Hamas and the Palestinians of carrying out terrorist attacks in Egypt is unjustified incitement against them, affirming that all the accusations made by the Egyptian media against the Palestinians are sheer lies.
The action group for the Palestinians in Syria strongly denounced what it described as the serious violations that are committed by Egyptian jailers against many Palestinian women who fled to Egypt from the war-torn Syria and were kidnapped and jailed by the Egyptian security apparatuses.
In a report, the group affirmed that all the Palestinian female detainees in Egypt are exposed to systematic sexual harassment by Egyptian prison officers and jailers.
The group added that the Palestinian refugees in Egypt's jails are being held under inhumane incarceration conditions, and exposed to excruciating torture and maltreatment.
The group slammed the Palestinian Authority embassy in Cairo for ignoring the issue of about 296 Palestinian refugees who were arrested by the Egyptian security apparatuses after they took refuge in the Egyptian territories from the war raging in Syria.
The group said that the PA's indifference to the affairs of its citizens in Egypt confirmed further its keenness on its own interests with the Egyptian military regime over the interests of its people and their suffering.
The group appealed to the international community to open an investigation into the exposure of Palestinian refugees to sexual harassment and torture in Egyptian jails, and held the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) responsible for the international silence on the reported violations committed against the Palestinians in Egypt.
For his part, member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk strongly criticized the persistent Egyptian media incitement against his Movement and the Palestinians and described it as reprehensible and unjustified.
"What could be possibly achieved from such incitement and repeated fabrications against Hamas and the Gaza Strip," Abu Marzouk said on his facebook page on Wednesday.
He stressed that accusing Hamas and the Palestinians of carrying out terrorist attacks in Egypt is unjustified incitement against them, affirming that all the accusations made by the Egyptian media against the Palestinians are sheer lies.
24 nov 2013
The Hamas Movement accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its security apparatuses of involvement in the incitement conspiracy with some Egyptian media outlets against the Palestinian people and their resistance in the Gaza Strip. This came in remarks made by its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, commenting on accusations made by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram about the involvement of Khairat Al-Shater, the deputy head of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group, and Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in the Sinai events.
Abu Zuhri affirmed in a press release that these documents contained lies and unfounded formation.
"The documents which Al-Ahram newspaper relied on were issued by the Palestinian intelligence apparatus of Mahmoud Abbas, as these documents held the letterhead and logo of the apparatus and were signed by PA security leaders living in Ramallah and some others who live in Egypt," Abu Zuhri stated.
The spokesman added that such fabricated documents vindicated further the size of the conspiracy against the Palestinian people and their resistance.
In another incident, the spokeswoman for the Palestinian government in Gaza Isra Al-Mudalal accused the Egyptian media of distorting a statement she had given as an ordinary person about Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi before she held her current post.
Mudalal affirmed in a press release in response to news claims published on Saturday by Al-Masri newspaper that what had been written in this newspaper about a personal view of hers contained contradictions and was edited unprofessionally.
She stressed that the staff of the Palestinian government are not allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of the other countries or make remarks about their internal events.
"This interview happened personally before I assumed my duties as the spokeswoman of the Palestinian government in Gaza, and the nature of the interview was about personal views," she underlined.
Abu Zuhri affirmed in a press release that these documents contained lies and unfounded formation.
"The documents which Al-Ahram newspaper relied on were issued by the Palestinian intelligence apparatus of Mahmoud Abbas, as these documents held the letterhead and logo of the apparatus and were signed by PA security leaders living in Ramallah and some others who live in Egypt," Abu Zuhri stated.
The spokesman added that such fabricated documents vindicated further the size of the conspiracy against the Palestinian people and their resistance.
In another incident, the spokeswoman for the Palestinian government in Gaza Isra Al-Mudalal accused the Egyptian media of distorting a statement she had given as an ordinary person about Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi before she held her current post.
Mudalal affirmed in a press release in response to news claims published on Saturday by Al-Masri newspaper that what had been written in this newspaper about a personal view of hers contained contradictions and was edited unprofessionally.
She stressed that the staff of the Palestinian government are not allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of the other countries or make remarks about their internal events.
"This interview happened personally before I assumed my duties as the spokeswoman of the Palestinian government in Gaza, and the nature of the interview was about personal views," she underlined.
20 nov 2013
Dr. Bassem Naim, Foreign Relations Advisor to the Prime Minister in Gaza, said that contacts with the Egyptian side have never ceased. He noted that the contacts are mainly held with the General Intelligence Service as it is the organ responsible for this Palestinian file in general and the Gaza Strip and its problems.
Naim said in a press statement on Wednesday: "These contacts have had fruits especially the opening of the crossing between now and then, and we look forward to improve the circumstances and the results of these contacts."
He expressed his hope that the crossing will be re-opened to facilitate the movement of people and goods from and to Gaza.
"We are holding contacts with Arab and international parties to brief them on the situation of the Gaza Strip and the effects of the blockade, and to inform them about the status of the Rafah crossing so that they will help us to solve the crisis of its closure," Naim said, stressing that the occupation is the main responsible for this blockade with Arab cooperation and international cover.
He also denied that Gaza live in political isolation, and said "before this stage, Gaza witnessed difficult conditions; but there are foreign visitors coming from the Beit Hanoun crossing. Besides, we benefit from the means of new communication and information technology to contact officials and bodies."
Naim said in a press statement on Wednesday: "These contacts have had fruits especially the opening of the crossing between now and then, and we look forward to improve the circumstances and the results of these contacts."
He expressed his hope that the crossing will be re-opened to facilitate the movement of people and goods from and to Gaza.
"We are holding contacts with Arab and international parties to brief them on the situation of the Gaza Strip and the effects of the blockade, and to inform them about the status of the Rafah crossing so that they will help us to solve the crisis of its closure," Naim said, stressing that the occupation is the main responsible for this blockade with Arab cooperation and international cover.
He also denied that Gaza live in political isolation, and said "before this stage, Gaza witnessed difficult conditions; but there are foreign visitors coming from the Beit Hanoun crossing. Besides, we benefit from the means of new communication and information technology to contact officials and bodies."
Egyptian authorities suddenly closed the Rafah border crossing with Gaza Strip before noon Wednesday after the entry of only one busload of passengers and an ambulance car. The Egyptian authorities had opened the crossing on Tuesday after 11 days of closure for unknown reasons.
The PIC reporter quoted sources at the crossing as saying that the Egyptian side did not stamp passports of those who entered in the only bus allowed since the morning. They expected that those passengers would be returned to the Palestinian side of the crossing.
The sources pointed out that the Egyptians returned a number of ambulance vehicles which were carrying patients and told them that the crossing was closed.
Egyptian security sources said that an explosion had killed ten soldiers and wounded more than five others in Sinai earlier on Wednesday.
The PIC reporter quoted sources at the crossing as saying that the Egyptian side did not stamp passports of those who entered in the only bus allowed since the morning. They expected that those passengers would be returned to the Palestinian side of the crossing.
The sources pointed out that the Egyptians returned a number of ambulance vehicles which were carrying patients and told them that the crossing was closed.
Egyptian security sources said that an explosion had killed ten soldiers and wounded more than five others in Sinai earlier on Wednesday.
18 nov 2013
Egyptian authorities said the Rafah border crossing with Gaza Strip would open on Tuesday for three days, after ten days of closure, for the travel of passengers who have humanitarian conditions. Maher Abu Sabha, the director of crossings and borders at the Gaza interior ministry, said that the Egyptians informed his department that the crossing would work from 0900 am to 0300 pm (local time) during those three days.
The Egyptian authorities have repeatedly closed the border terminal since the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in early July and opened it only for few days for a limited period of time and for certain categories.
The repeated closure of the crossing exacerbated the suffering of the Gaza inhabitants who have been under siege for seven years.
The Egyptian authorities have repeatedly closed the border terminal since the ouster of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in early July and opened it only for few days for a limited period of time and for certain categories.
The repeated closure of the crossing exacerbated the suffering of the Gaza inhabitants who have been under siege for seven years.
17 nov 2013
Palestinian government in Gaza accused the Egyptian authorities of deliberately tightening the siege on the Gaza Strip, and expressed deep concern about the Egyptian side's insistence on the continued closure of the Rafah crossing. Spokesman for the Gaza government Ihab Ghussein said in a press statement on Sunday, "The continued closure of the Rafah crossing comes within the context of escalating the policy of unjust siege imposed on Gaza. This threatens the collapse of all essential sectors in the Strip, as Rafah crossing represents Gaza's only window to the outside world."
He called on the Egyptian side to open the Rafah crossing in light of the worsening humanitarian suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian government in Gaza called on the nations of the world to express their positions toward the Egyptian policy regarding the closure of the crossing, and to immediately intervene in order to lift the siege on Gaza.
He called on the Egyptian side to open the Rafah crossing in light of the worsening humanitarian suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian government in Gaza called on the nations of the world to express their positions toward the Egyptian policy regarding the closure of the crossing, and to immediately intervene in order to lift the siege on Gaza.
16 nov 2013
Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya reiterated his appeal to the Egyptian authorities to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip, saying it is unreasonable to secure Egypt's security at the expense of the humanitarian situation in the Strip. In his Friday Khutba (sermon), premier Haneyya called on the Egyptian regime to stop its arbitrary incitement campaign against the Palestinians and Gaza.
"Egypt has the right to protect its security, but it must not be at the expense of Gaza," the premier highlighted in his speech.
He also expressed his dismay at Egypt's destruction of the Rafah border tunnels without finding an alternative fulfilling the humanitarian needs of the Gaza people.
Haneyya also said that his government initiated contacts with several regional countries to stop the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a result of the escalating blockade.
He affirmed that his government is ready to cooperate with the Egyptian security apparatuses about any alleged Palestinian involvement in events happening in their territories.
In a separate context, premier Ismail Haneyya is expected to meet on Saturday afternoon representatives and leaders of the Palestinian political factions to discuss with them some important issues of mutual interest.
His political advisor Yousuf Rizqa affirmed that Haneyya would table during the meeting the escalating blockade on Gaza and the need to find agreeable solutions to the crises plaguing the daily lives of its population.
"Egypt has the right to protect its security, but it must not be at the expense of Gaza," the premier highlighted in his speech.
He also expressed his dismay at Egypt's destruction of the Rafah border tunnels without finding an alternative fulfilling the humanitarian needs of the Gaza people.
Haneyya also said that his government initiated contacts with several regional countries to stop the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a result of the escalating blockade.
He affirmed that his government is ready to cooperate with the Egyptian security apparatuses about any alleged Palestinian involvement in events happening in their territories.
In a separate context, premier Ismail Haneyya is expected to meet on Saturday afternoon representatives and leaders of the Palestinian political factions to discuss with them some important issues of mutual interest.
His political advisor Yousuf Rizqa affirmed that Haneyya would table during the meeting the escalating blockade on Gaza and the need to find agreeable solutions to the crises plaguing the daily lives of its population.
12 nov 2013
Egypt has detained over 1,500 refugees from Syria, including at least 400 Palestinians and 250 children as young as two months old, for weeks and sometimes months, Human Rights Watch(HRW) reported on Monday. Security officials have acknowledged that the refugees will be held indefinitely until they leave the country.
The report noted that Palestinian refugees from Syria are especially vulnerable because Egyptian policy prevents them from seeking protection from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), contrary to UNHCR’s mandate under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Egyptian authorities tell detained Palestinians that their only alternative to indefinite detention is to go to Lebanon, where they are only permitted to legally enter on a 48-hour transit visa, or to return to war-torn Syria.
“Egypt is leaving hundreds of Palestinians from Syria with no protection from Syria’s killing fields except indefinite detention in miserable conditions,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
“Egypt should immediately release those being held and allow UNHCR to give them the protection they are due under international law,” he added.
The report recommended that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who currently in Cairo, should seize the opportunity to insist upon the immediate release of detained refugees.
The report noted that Palestinian refugees from Syria are especially vulnerable because Egyptian policy prevents them from seeking protection from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), contrary to UNHCR’s mandate under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Egyptian authorities tell detained Palestinians that their only alternative to indefinite detention is to go to Lebanon, where they are only permitted to legally enter on a 48-hour transit visa, or to return to war-torn Syria.
“Egypt is leaving hundreds of Palestinians from Syria with no protection from Syria’s killing fields except indefinite detention in miserable conditions,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
“Egypt should immediately release those being held and allow UNHCR to give them the protection they are due under international law,” he added.
The report recommended that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who currently in Cairo, should seize the opportunity to insist upon the immediate release of detained refugees.
9 nov 2013
Abbas and Mansour in a previous meeting
Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday, an Egyptian diplomat said.
Abbas's visit, the source says, comes to reaffirm the strength of relations between the two sides.
Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Yasser Othman said we invited the PA President Mahmoud Abbas to Cairo to confirm the Egyptian support for President Abbas and to thank him on his stance in support of the Egyptian people's June 30 revolution,"
In a statement to the Al-Ayyam daily, Othman said "we appreciate the PA's position and certainly will forget those who stood with and backed Egypt,..."
"The visit comes up a critical phase of the peace process and thus we would confirm our stance siding with the President Abbas's stance and rejecting Israeli measures particularly the settlement activities...," he added, stressing that "Egypt had sent an official invitation to Abbas,"
It also, he pointed out, will take on Palestinian reconciliation and ways to push it forward; moreover, the visit will discuss the situation in Gaza and how to work regarding the siege imposed on it and make it easier for our Palestinian brothers,"
"Egypt and the Palestinian leadership are keen to lift the Gaza siege and thus will be put on the table every possible action may help the Palestinian citizens [in Gaza]," he said.
Al Jazeera Arabic had quoted European diplomatic sources as saying that "President Abbas devoted his last tour in Europe to warn of any decline in support of the July coup in Egypt led by Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,"
Aljazeera.net reported Thursday well-informed European diplomats as saying "Abbas solid firmly defended the Egyptian state after the July 3 coup,"
"Italian officials were surprised by Abbas's 'fierce defense' of the coup in Egypt and his statement on the need to support it during the current period, while condoning even mentioning the plight of the Palestinian refugees drowned off the Maltese shores after fleeing Syria," according to the Qatari Network.
Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday, an Egyptian diplomat said.
Abbas's visit, the source says, comes to reaffirm the strength of relations between the two sides.
Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Yasser Othman said we invited the PA President Mahmoud Abbas to Cairo to confirm the Egyptian support for President Abbas and to thank him on his stance in support of the Egyptian people's June 30 revolution,"
In a statement to the Al-Ayyam daily, Othman said "we appreciate the PA's position and certainly will forget those who stood with and backed Egypt,..."
"The visit comes up a critical phase of the peace process and thus we would confirm our stance siding with the President Abbas's stance and rejecting Israeli measures particularly the settlement activities...," he added, stressing that "Egypt had sent an official invitation to Abbas,"
It also, he pointed out, will take on Palestinian reconciliation and ways to push it forward; moreover, the visit will discuss the situation in Gaza and how to work regarding the siege imposed on it and make it easier for our Palestinian brothers,"
"Egypt and the Palestinian leadership are keen to lift the Gaza siege and thus will be put on the table every possible action may help the Palestinian citizens [in Gaza]," he said.
Al Jazeera Arabic had quoted European diplomatic sources as saying that "President Abbas devoted his last tour in Europe to warn of any decline in support of the July coup in Egypt led by Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,"
Aljazeera.net reported Thursday well-informed European diplomats as saying "Abbas solid firmly defended the Egyptian state after the July 3 coup,"
"Italian officials were surprised by Abbas's 'fierce defense' of the coup in Egypt and his statement on the need to support it during the current period, while condoning even mentioning the plight of the Palestinian refugees drowned off the Maltese shores after fleeing Syria," according to the Qatari Network.
7 nov 2013
Two Egyptian army choppers flew over the southern Gaza Strip border city of Rafah on Thursday morning. Eyewitnesses said that the choppers flew over the border areas of Rafah, adding that the choppers suddenly breached the airspace of Gaza as they were apparently combing the Egyptian Rafah city.
Egyptian military choppers flew over suburbs in Rafah and Khan Younis cities, south of the Gaza Strip, over the past few weeks focusing on the coastal area and the southern and western suburbs of both cities.
Egyptian military choppers flew over suburbs in Rafah and Khan Younis cities, south of the Gaza Strip, over the past few weeks focusing on the coastal area and the southern and western suburbs of both cities.
31 oct 2013
Egyptian Authorities have detained 236 Syrian citizens and Palestinian refugees in Alexandria Governorate, including four families fleeing Syria's conflict since a month and a half month, preparing to deport them to Syria or to Lebanon, Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said. The Palestinian and Syrian detainees appealed the international community to end their plight especially that they were detained by Egyptian authorities since 45 days while they were trying to reach Europe on 17 September.
One of the detainees, held in Abu Qir Egyptian prison, has managed to contact the Action Group and informed them of the Egyptian intention to deport them to Syria or to Lebanon.
The Egyptian authorities have confiscated the detainees' papers as a prelude to deporting them, he added, pointing out to their inhuman and difficult detention conditions.
He called on Egyptian Authorities to give them refuge on Egyptian territories especially that they are no longer able to live in such detention conditions.
Three Palestinian families and one Syrian family were among the detainees in addition to 16 young men who were arrested while attempting to cross to Europe, the detainee clarified.
The detainees suffer very harsh conditions, where they cannot stay in Egypt after losing their money and papers and they cannot return to Syria due to the ongoing conflict.
One of the detainees, held in Abu Qir Egyptian prison, has managed to contact the Action Group and informed them of the Egyptian intention to deport them to Syria or to Lebanon.
The Egyptian authorities have confiscated the detainees' papers as a prelude to deporting them, he added, pointing out to their inhuman and difficult detention conditions.
He called on Egyptian Authorities to give them refuge on Egyptian territories especially that they are no longer able to live in such detention conditions.
Three Palestinian families and one Syrian family were among the detainees in addition to 16 young men who were arrested while attempting to cross to Europe, the detainee clarified.
The detainees suffer very harsh conditions, where they cannot stay in Egypt after losing their money and papers and they cannot return to Syria due to the ongoing conflict.
24 oct 2013
An Israeli envoy left Cairo early Thursday after a short visit to Egypt. The envoy, the second to visit the Arab country in two days, arrived on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials on developments in the Sinai Peninsula.
This is the fourth visit by an Israeli envoy to Egypt this month.
Two Israeli envoys had visited Cairo on October 11 and 17 for talks with Egyptian officials with a third Israeli military envoy arriving on Tuesday.
Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip, has witnessed mounting violence against police and army personnel since the July 3 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely-elected president, by the military.
The Egyptian army is currently carrying out what military experts are calling the largest military operation on the peninsula since Egypt's 1973 war with Israel with the stated aim of combating "militancy and terrorism."
This is the fourth visit by an Israeli envoy to Egypt this month.
Two Israeli envoys had visited Cairo on October 11 and 17 for talks with Egyptian officials with a third Israeli military envoy arriving on Tuesday.
Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip, has witnessed mounting violence against police and army personnel since the July 3 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely-elected president, by the military.
The Egyptian army is currently carrying out what military experts are calling the largest military operation on the peninsula since Egypt's 1973 war with Israel with the stated aim of combating "militancy and terrorism."
20 oct 2013
Hamas, its Gaza Strip stronghold cut off by the new military-backed government in Egypt, called upon rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday to end their six-year schism and form a unity government. Abbas's secular, U.S.-backed Fatah faction lost a 2006 ballot to Islamist Hamas. They sat in an uneasy alliance until a civil war the following year left Hamas ruling Gaza while Abbas's authority was limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Egypt brokered a Palestinian reconciliation deal in 2011 but it was never implemented. In Cairo, meanwhile, Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was toppled by the army, which treats Egypt's Hamas neighbours as security threats.
"Our conditions do not allow for keeping up differences," Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister in the Gaza administration, said in a speech calling on Abbas and Fatah to renew dialogue with Hamas, schedule new elections and enter a temporary power-share.
"Let's have one government, one parliament and one president," Haniyeh said.
The overture was received coolly by Fatah, whose leader, Abbas, is engaged in a new round of U.S.-sponsored peace talks with Israel. Hamas refuses coexistence with the Jewish state.
Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said Haniyeh's speech "included nothing new, neither a clear plan nor a certain timetable".
Pressured by the deterioration of ties with former regional backers Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, as well as by Mursi's fall and the ensuing Egyptian crackdown on Palestinian tunnels used to smuggle arms and commercial goods into Gaza, Hamas is in steep financial decline.
Haniyeh sought to soften tensions with Cairo, denying Egyptian accusations the group had intervened in the internal unrest on behalf of Mursi's Islamist supporters.
Hamas has also tried to fend off allegations that it was aiding Islamist militants in the lawless Egyptian Sinai desert, which borders both Gaza and Israel.
"We have not intervened in internal Egyptian affairs, neither in Sinai nor anywhere else in Egypt," Haniyeh said.
Cairo's closure of some 1,200 smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border has deepened Palestinian material shortages, adding to pressure from a long-standing Israeli embargo on the coastal strip, and denied Hamas a major source of tax revenue.
Haniyeh said Palestinians could do without the smuggling tunnels were Egypt to open up its border with Gaza rather than support the Israeli blockade.
But he hinted that Hamas was hard at work digging a different kind of tunnel - under the border with Israel, to strike at the Jewish state in a future conflict. Israel and Hamas fought an eight-day war in November.
The Israelis unearthed one such tunnel last week, saying its Palestinian operators apparently planned to kidnap a soldier or set off underground explosives.
Hamas did not claim or deny responsibility for that tunnel. But Haniyeh said in the speech that "thousands of heroes have been working in silence, below ground, to prepare for the coming battles in Palestine".
Egypt brokered a Palestinian reconciliation deal in 2011 but it was never implemented. In Cairo, meanwhile, Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was toppled by the army, which treats Egypt's Hamas neighbours as security threats.
"Our conditions do not allow for keeping up differences," Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister in the Gaza administration, said in a speech calling on Abbas and Fatah to renew dialogue with Hamas, schedule new elections and enter a temporary power-share.
"Let's have one government, one parliament and one president," Haniyeh said.
The overture was received coolly by Fatah, whose leader, Abbas, is engaged in a new round of U.S.-sponsored peace talks with Israel. Hamas refuses coexistence with the Jewish state.
Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said Haniyeh's speech "included nothing new, neither a clear plan nor a certain timetable".
Pressured by the deterioration of ties with former regional backers Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, as well as by Mursi's fall and the ensuing Egyptian crackdown on Palestinian tunnels used to smuggle arms and commercial goods into Gaza, Hamas is in steep financial decline.
Haniyeh sought to soften tensions with Cairo, denying Egyptian accusations the group had intervened in the internal unrest on behalf of Mursi's Islamist supporters.
Hamas has also tried to fend off allegations that it was aiding Islamist militants in the lawless Egyptian Sinai desert, which borders both Gaza and Israel.
"We have not intervened in internal Egyptian affairs, neither in Sinai nor anywhere else in Egypt," Haniyeh said.
Cairo's closure of some 1,200 smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border has deepened Palestinian material shortages, adding to pressure from a long-standing Israeli embargo on the coastal strip, and denied Hamas a major source of tax revenue.
Haniyeh said Palestinians could do without the smuggling tunnels were Egypt to open up its border with Gaza rather than support the Israeli blockade.
But he hinted that Hamas was hard at work digging a different kind of tunnel - under the border with Israel, to strike at the Jewish state in a future conflict. Israel and Hamas fought an eight-day war in November.
The Israelis unearthed one such tunnel last week, saying its Palestinian operators apparently planned to kidnap a soldier or set off underground explosives.
Hamas did not claim or deny responsibility for that tunnel. But Haniyeh said in the speech that "thousands of heroes have been working in silence, below ground, to prepare for the coming battles in Palestine".
