Sinai attacks affected Gaza more than Egypt

Sinai attacks affected Gaza more than Egypt

Gaza, August 11, I cant help but express my disappointment in the Egyptian new regime for many reasons. Among those reasons is their failure of predicting Sinai attacks that left nearly 20 Egyptian soldiers dead, another reason is their immediate closure orders of Rafah border, Gazans only way out.

Right after Sinai attacks occurred, Egyptian state TV started airing quotes of an "anonymous" top Egyptian security official saying that those masked gunmen belong to an extremist group and they came from Gaza. 

His hasty "allegations" made it to Al Jazeera as you can see here:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128523429347102.html

I would like to ask this Egyptian top security official –who chose to remain anonymous- about the source of his allegations? How did he know for sure and so early that those extremists are from Gaza? And if he is very smart, why didn’t he predict or see this Sinai attacks coming?

Scenarios about the plot of the Sinai attacks were flying in the air. Some claimed that those gunmen were after abducting an Israeli soldiers while other sources said that they wanted to "infiltrate" Israel and wreck havoc if not practice a few "terror" attacks. Immediately after the attacks, Gaza Ministry of Interior announced shutting down the smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, then Egyptian helicopters bombed Rafah borderline and then Israel killed a Palestinian in Rafah after they "eliminated" the attack by blowing up the two vehicles that were commandeered by the attackers, they stole them after killing and injuring Egyptian soldiers who were breaking their fast.

Egyptian and Israeli sources said that the attack was accompanied by mortar shelling from Gaza on Kerem Shalom crossing on the borders between Egypt and Israel. However, no evidence was found of this shelling.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad rushed to condemn Sinai attacks and sending their support to Egypt. They both announced no relation to the attacks and accused Israeli mossad, just like Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt who also accused Israeli Mossad.

Israeli officials and ministers said in International media that those attacks should be a "wake-up call for Egypt to secure Sinai and eliminate terrorism" and denied any relation to the attacks. American officials rushed to back the Israeli claims. However, many Israeli officials and ministers and political commentators said on local radios and media outlets that Hamas wont benefit from such attacks and Israel is the only direction who benefits from such attacks.

I was disappointed to see Egyptians blame Gaza for the Sinai attacks and accused Morsi of being too loose specially after opening Rafah borders. They are delusional. Restrictions on Rafah border didn’t take place, Egypt only stopped deporting Palestinians. So how was Morsi loose with Rafah border? And where is the proof of Gaza being behind it? No one knows. Majority of Egyptians were smart enough to know that Gaza isn’t behind it, but some started a social media campaign against Palestinians.

Egyptian government closed Rafah border "indefinitely" and issued orders that prevent Palestinians from traveling through Cairo airport. In other words, Egypt just tightened the Israeli siege on Gaza and took away Gazan's only way out. Now, Gazans are trapped in Gaza with no hope of ever leaving. As if the restrictions that Egypt had before on Rafah border and the humiliation that they showered Palestinians with weren't enough.

Why Gaza isn’t behind Sinai attacks: Hamas will not ruin their relationship with Egypt and MB by executing such a juvenile attack that did nothing but kill innocent Egyptian soldiers while they were breaking their fast. Gaza was experiencing an improvement in the electricity crisis for a few days before Sinai attacks. Hamas will not benefit anything from the closure of Rafah border and Kerem Shalom border. If Hamas or Islamic Jihad did it why would they deny it? And if Gaza did it then where is the proof? Hamas will not benefit anything from closing all smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

Why Israel did it: Israel knew about the attacks three days prior to them happening. They warned their residents in Sinai and Taba. Israel aims on causing tension between Hamas and Egypt so Morsi doesn’t ease the Israeli siege on Gaza. Israel aims on isolating Gaza and tightening its siege with every chance they get. Israel wants to confuse Muslim Brotherhood. Israel wants to pressure Egypt into strengthening the bond between them both on the claims of both countries suffering from "terrorism". Israel always craved Sinai and by this attack Israel will ask for more international forces to come into Sinai and maybe talk Egypt into letting them co-protect Sinai and the borders.  Everyone said that since MB is now controlling Egypt, Gaza and Egypt will have a stronger bond since Hamas controls Gaza, so Israel wanted to force MB out of that. Israel always wanted the smuggling tunnels in Rafah to vanish in any way. And many more reasons.

Israel found the bodies of the gunmen who did the attack and Egypt arrested 9 on the claims of having a relation to Sinai attacks but my question remains standing: Where is the proof of Gaza being behind Sinai attacks? Nada. Nothing. Yet Gaza is blamed.

Gaza held a vigil to show support to Egypt and to mourn the lives of the innocent 20 Egyptian soldiers who fell dead due to Sinai attacks.

Egyptian government claimed that their forces carried attacks against militants in Sinai but local residents of Sinai denied the report and asked them to show evidence. Later on, Egyptian security officials in Sinai were sacked because of the Sinai attacks.

Gaza was affected more than Egypt after Sinai attacks because Rafah border is closed, Palestinians are not allowed into Cairo airport, Gaza electricity crisis is elevating every day, smuggling tunnels are closed so a shortage in goods will surface soon, Gazans are trapped in Gaza with no way out even if they are students or patients, Gaza's image is darkened by false allegations and Israel killed a Palestinian in Rafah the day of the attacks just because he was a Palestinian and riding his bike near Rafah that day.

I was disappointed also to see Egyptian Channels airing quotes of Israeli officials buttering up to Egypt by saying that "Egypt is strong". While the Egyptian media still discuss Sinai attacks to this day, no new news surfaced from any investigation and Gaza remains innocent since no one found any evidence to tie Gaza to Sinai attacks.

Gaza remains the scapegoat. Gaza's biggest role is being the whipping boy who is there to be whipped even if he didn’t do anything. But nobody is cutting Gaza some slack, not even Egyptians. I refuse to generalize, not all Egyptians blamed Gaza.

Palestinians and Egyptians were always brothers and they will remain like that no matter what happens. May all the Egyptian soldiers who died due to this vicious attack rest in peace, our hearts and prayers are with their families. I would never believe that a Palestinian is capable of killing an Egyptian.

More interesting articles about this issue:

http://www.shorouknews.com/columns/view.aspx?cdate=09082012&id=c01ba28a-4470-4dc7-9599-2da8d66e4027

http://www.shorouknews.com/columns/view.aspx?cdate=11082012&id=79559cae-e217-453b-95ce-f91468f7ead4

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/20128816542664189.html

http://www.npr.org/2012/08/10/158549062/egypt-accused-of-bogus-attacks

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128523429347102.html

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-arrests-9-militants-linked-to-sinai-attacks-1.457455

Eyes Language: Eyes can whisper

Eyes Language: Eyes can whisper

Eyes have capacious importance that surpasses the fact of being an organ and one of the human being's five senses (sight). "Eyes are the window to the soul", I can sense how cliché this sounds when writing it, but hear me out because I am about to tell you more about this cliché.

Let me start by mentioning a very very personal confession here: Those who know me closely know that I rarely make eye contact. Yes, I look at people's mouths when they talk instead of engaging in eye contact. Some noticed while other didn’t, some dared to ask you while others refrained and some thought it was strange while others didn’t care.

The reason behind my previous confession is that I believe in Eyes language, therefore, I understand the parlance of the eyes very clearly, too clear for my own sake. Looks equal mental images in my world, every mental image has or will have a meaning one day so you might want to hold onto it.

See, Chemistry is determined or ignited by a connection that was born after a sparkling eye-contact that takes place between two people. If we look closely or deeply into someone's eye, we tend to explore their soul and not only their outer looks.

Never underestimate a look you give people because people usually get what you mean by it. We are humans and most humans are judgmental, there is a look people give when they judge you that usually comes with\without a frown and maybe some eyebrow action.

Some people are controlling and they like to cast this look of fear in order to intimidate people or bully them. You might be laughing after reading the past line, but trust me it does exist and it usually works (seen it with my own eyes).

Sometimes you won't notice it, but a person might be gazing into your eyes giving you an invitation to know him\her better. If you understand the eyes language then you might be finding a catch –friend\husband\wife\buddy-, but if you don’t then you might be missing an opportunity of a life time. But hey be prudent and wary and don’t over look, you might be mistaken as a stalker. Equilibrium is the answer.  

Certain kind of people doesn't know how to lie, yes, don’t laugh. But it's not because they are angels and others are demons, it's simply because their eyes are scandalous. It will take you two seconds to spot their spuriousness. They can't help it, because eyes never change; only we do.

Some people like to take a deeper look at everything, whether people or surroundings, just to help everything sink in. Yes, it sounds overwhelming but it helps you pay attention more and notice things you don’t usually notice (personally tried). On the other hand, some eyes do shimmer with honesty. 

Those who like to be memorable tend to make long, deep and meaningful eye-contact. Somehow a person will be considered "random" if you just saw him\her walking by or something, but if you made eye-contact then it will turn into a mental image that might\might not be summoned later (or appear spontaneously).

Eye-connections come in so many types. The most infamous one is "flirting". While some people manipulate words to flirt, others choose to flirt with their eyes. You can't imagine how many signals you can send with your eyes and how much you can tell. Again, please be careful, securitizing sometimes might turn you into being condescending and rancorous.

Another type of eye-connection is the "friendly" type where you aren’t flirting –not even innocently flirting- but instead you are just being sweet and friendly (and boring, according to some people). But hey, be true to yourself and your aesthetic. If you like to make eye-contact to be friendly then so be it.

Third type is "love". "Love at first sight", another cliché I bore you with but come on, you know that it's true and it happens\ed (if not with you, then with someone you know). Yes, a love story can be built around looks, and sometimes looks only until you both are ready to take it further.  This type can take so much time or just one glare and Voilà you find yourself in love with someone without knowing why and\or how. Eyes are that powerful and looks are that influential. Sometimes you can fall into someone's eyes so deeply that the world goes empty, you will see only this person while the world stops and it will take you some time to snap out of it.


Eyes can also reflect hatred, danger, envy, resentment, deceit, lust or desire (and numerous other things). You might feel like asking me: "Omar, how can I know what the look means?", and my answer will be: there is a natural filter inside of us that helps us determine the hidden intentions that occur behind the look. Some have stronger filter than others. And sometimes it also relates to trusting your instinct or ignoring it especially when your body is trying to give you signals\warnings about a person you know\meet\see\gaze at. Looks are usually accompanied with facial expressions, these expressions are tools to help you in decoding the looks.


Sometimes a person can look at you because they like you, as simple as it is. Embrace it and don’t always pursue it because it might not always be serious. "Examine the water before you dive in", my third and last cliché (I promise).


The last type that I want to mention is: "Mysterious". Yes, people sometimes give you mysterious looks. Even if you are an expert at the Eyes Language, you just won't be able to figure them out no matter how hard you try. From a personal experience: Don’t exhaust yourself in trying to understand those mysterious looks and don’t over think them, sometimes they are mysterious simply because the person himself\herself doesn’t know what they want\mean so they cast those mysterious looks reflecting their inner state. They might not know what they want from you or they might not even know what they want in life so they spontaneously show their incoherence\disorientation with their eyes. Don’t take it personally, just move on.


Eyes tell secrets that people don’t dare say so make sure you listen and pay attention. Eyes are able to whisper even louder than your lips.