Juuuussssttttt spitballin’ here, but it certainly seems like we have an answer for Egypt’s extraordinary pissiniss about Israel’s plans to clear out Rafah.
I have to admit, this was the favored line of thinking over the past few weeks as the Biden administration sabotaged every Israeli move, and the Egyptians blustered and threatened. Almost to a one, folks weren’t at all fooled. They were asking, “What is Egypt worried the Israelis are going to find?”
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Well, hiya.
Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah, with ~50 tunnels crossing into Egypt, revealed @DrGiladNoam at today’s sham @CIJ_ICJ hearing.
Those tunnels are used to smuggle weapons to Hamas and can be used to smuggle senior terrorists and/or hostages out of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/UAgvyTCoJk
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) May 17, 2024
At least fifty tunnels – so far – scootin’ over – well, under – the border into Egypt.
What are the odds?
And what are the odds the Egyptians knew nothing?
Slim to none.
Why, though? Why would Egypt jeopardize a place at the table with Israel and the big dogs to grovel in the dirt with terrorists like Hamas?
One fellow I found made a lot of sense in his explanation. Part of the bargain was paying the jackals to keep their tribal warfare home.
It is time we had a frank conversation about Egypt and Hamas. For many years, we were told that Cairo was hostile to the terrorist organization because of their links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
I think we can now fairly say the relationship is much more complicated than that.… https://t.co/sAT4KnkJk7
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) May 17, 2024
The other reasons were more cultural differences.
…I think we can now fairly say the relationship is much more complicated than that. Egypt has propped up Hamas for years by allowing supply lines to go through it. 50 tunnels could not go through the border without Al-Sisi and his regime knowing about it. .
Also keep in mind that Israeli intelligence believes that most arms for Hamas are brought in through the Rafah Crossing, which is under Egyptian supervision.
In addition, their threats to torpedo the peace agreement if Israel goes into Rafah no longer seem to be just about refugees leaving Gaza. It also pertains to finding the tunnels and the extent of Egyptian cooperation with Hamas. In addition, it appears their resistance was part of an attempt to keep Hamas in power.
I don’t have all the answers to why Egypt is supporting Hamas, but this is my guess:
1) They have a modus vivendi with Hamas. They ask that Hamas not intervene in Egyptian politics and not undermine control in Sinai. In return, they turn a blind eye to the tunnels and arms going in. 2) They are getting kickbacks from Hamas and possibly Iran and Qatar in return. Egypt has serious economic and debt problems and could desperately use a source of income. 3) Egypt is rife with antisemitism, and they will lose no sleep over helping its enemies.
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None of that sounds impossible to believe, and, as a matter of fact, boatloads of tunnels crossing under the border have been documented for decades. In 2008, a French film crew talked to one Palestinian merchant in Rafah who said he wouldn’t have a thing to sell in his stall if it wasn’t for the merchandise that came through the tunnels from Egypt.
While defending themselves from accusations of genocide levied by humanist luminaries like the South Africans during a kangaroo tribunal at the Hague, the Israeli government laid out what they’d found so far in what’s been a remarkably restrained operation.
…During a hearing on Friday, [Isreali Justice Ministry official Gilad] Noam said the accusations made by South Africa, which include the claim that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention, are “completely divorced from facts and circumstances.”
He added that the case “makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide. Israel is engaged in a war it did not want and did not start. It is under attack and is fighting to defend itself and its citizens.”
Noam continued, “Hamas has vowed to continue the atrocities of Oct. 7 many times over. Rafah in particular is a focal point for ongoing terrorist activity.
“Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah, from which approximately 50 tunnels cross into Egypt. These tunnels are used by Hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition and could potentially be used to smuggle out of Gaza hostages, or Hamas senior operators.”
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As far as smuggling long-suffering hostages out, who knows how many of those poor people are even left alive?
The IDF found three more bodies today and returned them to Israel, including the beautiful young woman who’d been presented as a trophy to Gazans in the back of the butcherers’ pick-up truck.
The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.
A photo of 22-year-old Louk’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern Israel. The military identified the other two bodies as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a 56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter.
All three were killed by Hamas while fleeing the Nova music festival, an outdoor dance party near the Gaza border, where militants killed hundreds of people, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said at a news conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deaths “heartbreaking,” saying, “We will return all of our hostages, both the living and the dead.”
Shani Louk, Amit Buskila and Yitzhak Gelernter were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the Nova Music Festival.
Overnight, our troops recovered their bodies and brought them back home to Israel.
We will continue operating to bring all of our hostages… pic.twitter.com/ya8IoZ8Dvb
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 17, 2024
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May their memories always be a blessing.
The Israelis believe there may be 100 more, along with the bodies of the dead.
…Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Israel’s war in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
The ghouls will use them, abuse them, execute them, and not dispose of them.
There are still five Americans among those being held, but you couldn’t find any concern or heart-felt impetus to free them from the pathetic pandering corpse who occupies the White House.
Michigan votes are more important.
If any Americans were to be spirited through those tunnels into Egypt, that would be the end of it.
Makes you sick to your stomach.
Our own citizens and our strongest, fiercest ally were betrayed without a second thought.
And continue to be so.
