[News] Why are Egyptians still celebrating the man who killed 3 Israeli soldiers?

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230612-why-are-egyptians-still-celebrating-the-man-who-killed-3-israeli-soldiers/>
Why are Egyptians still celebrating the man who killed 3 Israeli soldiers?
Mahmoud Hassan - June 12, 2023
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[image: image.png]

The celebrations persist in Egypt for the executor of the attack
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230604-egypt-israel-to-hold-emergency-meeting-after-3-israeli-soldiers-killed-along-border/>on
the Israeli army, Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, despite official media silence on
the matter and security restrictions on his family, which left them unable
to hold a public funeral
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230607-egypt-refuses-to-hold-funeral-for-officer-who-killed-israel-soldiers/>for
him.

The glorification of the soldier who killed three Israeli soldiers and
injured two others was bolstered by unofficial reports suggesting the death
toll from the attack he carried out last week had risen to five.

Despite official statements from Egyptian authorities linking the incident
to the pursuit of drug smugglers, the public was quick to believe the
Israeli narrative. They even considered the attacker a hero.
A people's icon

A glance at social media, particularly Salah's personal Facebook page, and
it is plain to see the public's perception and views on the normalisation
of relations with Israel.

Egyptians are referring to Salah, a conscript serving his mandatory
service, as a martyr — a title usually reserved for those who die in battle
with the enemy, according to Muslim belief. This suggests they see him as
having been fighting a continued battle with the Israeli enemy, in spite of
the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190326-remembering-the-egypt-israel-peace-treaty/>
.

Perhaps what made Ibrahim's actions more praiseworthy was that they took
place days after the Israeli cabinet held a meeting in the tunnels
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230522-israel-cabinet-holds-meeting-beneath-al-aqsa-mosque/>beneath
Al-Aqsa Mosque, after right-wing ministers stormed the mosque's grounds.
The besieged Gaza Strip had also been attacked
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230514-israel-palestinians-agree-to-egyptian-mediated-cease-fire/>
and resistance leaders were assassinated.

Salah had previously shown sympathy for the Gaza Strip in light of Israeli
attacks targeting Palestinians
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220506-remembering-israels-2021-onslaught-on-gaza/>
in 2021. He had written on social media: "God stands with Palestine."

Intriguingly, the person who carried out the operation bore the same name
as Egyptian football Mohamed Salah. The former was hailed as the "real
pride of the Arab world", surpassing the achievements of the Premier
League's top scorer for three seasons.

This conscript reminded the public of soldier Suleiman Khater, who carried
out a similar operation on the border in 1985, killing five Israeli
soldiers, and of Ayman Hassan who killed 21 Israelis in 1990.

*READ: The latest border attack puts Egypt on the list of risks to Israel
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230612-the-latest-border-attack-puts-egypt-on-the-list-of-risks-to-israel/>*

Conscripts in the Egyptian army, who don't hold academic qualifications,
serve in this sector for three years as mandatory service. They are often
viewed as inferior due to their lesser education and distance from
politics. Yet, this time, a striking blow came from them — an action with
profound implications.

Salah's age – he was 22 – shocked many Israelis. Born in 2001, he belongs
to the third generation that was raised under a culture of normalisation
and has no connection with the generations that experienced the wars and
tension between Egypt and Israel.

According to an Egyptian political analyst, who spoke anonymously to
the *Middle
East Monitor*, the operation might prompt a reassessment of the
normalisation process in the region. He stated that this was the first
operation by an Egyptian soldier on the borders in 33 years, signifying
that the Egyptian public remains aware of and alert to their real enemy.
Security siege

It appears that the Egyptian regime, which was taken aback by the
operation, was disconcerted by the significant public sympathy for Salah.
It resorted to arresting several members of his family and friends,
conducting extensive investigations into his political and religious
affiliations, and forbidding the holding of a memorial service for him.
Stringent measures were imposed during his burial ceremony, attended by
only a few of his family members, in the family graveyard in Al-Ammar
village.

Despite the official media blackout on the incident, Egyptians were quick
to believe the Israeli narrative, which seemed solid and coherent compared
to the weak and disjointed official Egyptian description of pursuing drug
traffickers without revealing the traffickers' fate.

Political analyst Abu Anas Al-Masry attributes this blackout to fundamental
problems in the Egyptian regime: a lack of transparency, rampant
bureaucracy, deliberate obscuring of the truth from the public and the
control sovereign bodies have over key media sectors. This has resulted in
Egyptians seeking news and developments from other sources, in this case
Israel.

Speaking to *Middle East Monitor*, he said the unprofessional media
handling of the incident undermined the credibility of the Egyptian side,
which entangled itself in formulating an illogical narrative, providing
grounds for accusations of lying and deception. There was a widespread
public feeling that something was being hidden.

[image: Egyptians continue to reject the normalising of ties with the
Israeli occupation - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]]

Egyptians continue to reject the normalising of ties with the Israeli
occupation – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
Costly aftermath

Undoubtedly, the incident will lead to enhanced cooperation between the two
countries in border surveillance, joint patrols, and reviewing the records
of conscripts working in the border area to prevent such attacks in the
future.

The incident may exacerbate Israeli pressures on Egypt concerning its
ability to secure the borders and fine-tune its security apparatus in a
manner that considers future Israeli security considerations. This opens
the door for increased coordination between the two sides and perhaps
making concessions that would allow the Israeli side to supervise the
securing of the borders from both sides and gain sensitive information
about Egyptian patrols and surveillance personnel.

According to an Israeli statement, Tel Aviv and Cairo agreed to form a
joint investigation team following the incident, emphasising the necessity
of continuing coordination and security cooperation to maintain calm at the
border.

*READ: It took just one Egyptian border guard to boost the nation amid
normalisation with Israel
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230605-it-took-just-one-egyptian-border-guard-to-boost-the-nation-amid-normalisation-with-israel/>*

Salah's actions have had a more significant impact on Israel. He
successfully revealed the weaknesses in Israeli security readiness and
underscored the state of hostility, anger and rejection of normalisation
with the occupation state. Indeed, he stirred the Egyptian public into an
unprecedented celebratory state which almost nullifies any progress made by
the 'peace deal' signed 44 years ago.

There is fear in Tel Aviv that Salah's actions may encourage others to
replicate his actions and cause a previously dormant front to flare up for
the first time in decades.

Tel Aviv will now reassess its stance on the risks along its southern
border with Egypt and evaluate the security situation there. It's likely to
allocate a larger budget to increase the readiness of its monitoring points
while bracing for a potential flare-up in a region that may have been
previously ignored.

The Israeli military is conducting comprehensive military manoeuvres
simulating a multi-front war. This includes Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the
West Bank, as part of a multifaceted conflict. Egypt was effectively
excluded from its scenarios, but Salah's operation may change this. This is
a worrying prospect for both Egypt and Israel.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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