3 Jun 2024 7:08 am
Egypt built a formidable border wall, something Donald Trump could not even imagine in a fever dream for America. It is impenetrable, militarized, and closely guarded with Egyptian troops and security forces. The way through it for Gazans seeking to get out of Gaza? Baksheesh. Upwards of $5,000 per person. It has also been a gateway for international aid and smuggling into Gaza resulting in over $88 million in profit to the holder of the border keys.
The holder of those keys is a Bedouin tribal leader named Ibrahim al-Organi, now the wealthiest man in northern Sinai. But how could an ex-con smuggler rise to a position of border control prince? Through connections to the Egyptian government, Organi has cultivated extremely close ties with Egyptian President al-Sisi, and more significantly, with al-Sisi’s son, Mahmoud. General Mahmoud al-Sisi is the Deputy Chief of Egyptian intelligence and he sits on Organi’s board. It’s good to have friends in high places, and in the case of Organi, it has made him, and those in his network, very wealthy.
Every day there is additional evidence of Egyptian smuggling in Gaza. Intelligence on May 31, 2024 uncovered surface to air missiles smuggled into Rafah from Egypt. The large cache purportedly would have been used to take down IDF helicopters. How much money changed hands for Egypt to have turned a blind eye (or been complicit) in these types of smuggling operations?
Trafficking helps explain Egypt's desperate moves, down to its clumsy diplomatic effort. The embarrassment to rain down on Egypt’s government for its perfidy toward Israel and its American patron will be catastrophic reputationally and financially for the al-Sisi family.
Why did Washington pressure Israel to remain outside Rafah, including withholding arms to keep the IDF from entering? What’s in it for Team Biden? Avoidance of utter humiliation.
Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and Jake Sullivan have been straddling a so-called ironclad commitment to Israeli security on one hand and a restive Democrat party that is increasingly hostile toward America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East. Biden’s team is forced to reconcile the fact that it is selling out Israel while acknowledging that Israel is obeying the laws of war as well as international humanitarian law. Biden, Blinken, and Sullivan constantly harangue Israel to not cross any of their artificial redlines in an effort to constrain IDF activities, most recently in Rafah. Then they are forced publicly to acknowledge that Israel has not crossed any redlines.
The holder of those keys is a Bedouin tribal leader named Ibrahim al-Organi, now the wealthiest man in northern Sinai. But how could an ex-con smuggler rise to a position of border control prince? Through connections to the Egyptian government, Organi has cultivated extremely close ties with Egyptian President al-Sisi, and more significantly, with al-Sisi’s son, Mahmoud. General Mahmoud al-Sisi is the Deputy Chief of Egyptian intelligence and he sits on Organi’s board. It’s good to have friends in high places, and in the case of Organi, it has made him, and those in his network, very wealthy.
Every day there is additional evidence of Egyptian smuggling in Gaza. Intelligence on May 31, 2024 uncovered surface to air missiles smuggled into Rafah from Egypt. The large cache purportedly would have been used to take down IDF helicopters. How much money changed hands for Egypt to have turned a blind eye (or been complicit) in these types of smuggling operations?
Trafficking helps explain Egypt's desperate moves, down to its clumsy diplomatic effort. The embarrassment to rain down on Egypt’s government for its perfidy toward Israel and its American patron will be catastrophic reputationally and financially for the al-Sisi family.
Why did Washington pressure Israel to remain outside Rafah, including withholding arms to keep the IDF from entering? What’s in it for Team Biden? Avoidance of utter humiliation.
Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and Jake Sullivan have been straddling a so-called ironclad commitment to Israeli security on one hand and a restive Democrat party that is increasingly hostile toward America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East. Biden’s team is forced to reconcile the fact that it is selling out Israel while acknowledging that Israel is obeying the laws of war as well as international humanitarian law. Biden, Blinken, and Sullivan constantly harangue Israel to not cross any of their artificial redlines in an effort to constrain IDF activities, most recently in Rafah. Then they are forced publicly to acknowledge that Israel has not crossed any redlines.