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Egyptian Military Operation in Sinai Hits Terror Bases
The Egyptian army launched a fierce offensive against terrorist forces in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, targeting the group believed to be responsible for a Sunday raid that left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead. In that incident, two armored vehicles were commandeered, and one was driven through the border fence into Israel where air force jets destroyed the vehicle killing the four terrorists inside. An Egyptian spokesman said troops entered the village of Al-Toumah, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed vehicles. Soldiers were backed by the first use of air force jets by the Egyptian military since the 1973 war against Israel. A number of injuries were reported in the operation, including a civilian whose condition is said to be critical. The operation, which was continuing into the morning, followed several reported incidents of gunmen firing on military check points at locations in the Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli News Site: Hamas Chief’s Brother-in-Law Treated at Israeli Hospital
The brother-in-law of Hamas head Ismail Haniyya was given emergency cardiac treatment at Beilinson Hospital, near Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli news site Y-Net. The report said the husband of Haniyya’s sister suffered a heart attack that required care beyond that which was available in Gaza hospitals. As is procedure in such cases, application for treatment in Israel was made and approved, and the patient was taken by ambulance along with his wife to the Tel Aviv hospital where he spent a week undergoing treatment. When his condition permitted, he and his wife returned to Gaza.
Iranian Vice President Visits President Morsi in Cairo
Iranian Vice President Hamid Baghaei became the first high-ranking Iranian government official to visit Egypt since 1979 when he arrived in Cairo on Tuesday. The official explanation for the visit is for Baghaei to extend an invitation for President Morsi to attend the non-aligned nations conference in Tehran later this month. The rotating presidency of the Non-aligned Movement, a group of 120-nations, passes from Egypt to Iran at the Tehran convention, but according to Egyptian news sources, the new president has not decided whether he will attend. Iranian leadership views the election of Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, as part of “an Islamic awakening” in the words of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran is also planning its own conference on solutions for the Syrian crisis slated for Thursday in Tehran according to the state run IRNA news agency. The report said countries with “realistic stances” on the Syrian situation will attend, but failed to name them.
Abbas: We’ll Seek UN Recognition of “Occupation,” not “Dispute”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas used a speech to high school graduates at Al-Najah University in Nablus on Tuesday to explain the reasoning behind the decision to seek recognition from the United Nations, an action that has angered the United States and Israel. Abbas said the campaign sought to obtain international recognition that “Palestine is a state under occupation rather than a disputed territory,” according to the Ma’an news agency. Abbas said, “Israel neither halted settlement activities, nor recognized the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967 as occupied territory. Thus, the only choice we have is to go to the UN equipped with a united Arab stance.” On the continued stalemate between Fatah and Hamas, Abbas said the local elections scheduled for October 20 will proceed even though Hamas has not agreed to participate “because we are a democratic people.” Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has called for parliamentary elections to be held as well, even if it means proceeding without reconciliation.
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Resurfaces After Two Weeks
After remaining out of sight for the past two weeks prompting speculation about his whereabouts and his health, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad resurfaced on Tuesday in a television news clip. Assad was shown meeting with Saeed Jalili, head of the National Security Council. On Monday, Assad’s prime minister defected to the opposition, an event that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saw as reason to begin drawing up plans for post-Assad Syria. The SecState said at a news conference in South Africa on Tuesday that while she can’t predict the date, she has no doubt Assad will soon fall. In Jordan, King Abdallah II disagreed, expressing the belief that justice is on Assad’s side. In a questionable choice of words, the monarch told his CBS interviewer that he expected the Syrian president to “stick to his guns.”
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