There are two contradictory trends in the Egyptian press, both in editorials and personal columns, with regard to the multiple terrorist bombing massacres in Sinai earlier this month. One is to disassociate the events from Israel altogether, even though most victims were Israeli tourists, and see Egypt as one of many nations victimized by terrorism. The other trend is to emphatically connect the bombings to Israel and claim Israel is at fault for the increased terrorism.
"What fault did those innocent victims in Sinai resorts make to lose their lives in such a brutal way and in Egypt which never spared the effort to support Arabic causes particularly those of Palestinian and Iraq? Can revenge for Iraqi and Palestinians martyrs, as claimed by the unidentified Muslim group, the International Gama'a Islamiya, be taken through killing vacationers in Egypt...?" asked the leading Egyptian daily Al-Ahram in exasperation on the Saturday following the attacks.
While emphasizing the innocence of the victims, and the universality of terrorism, the newspaper still linked the Sinai terrorism to American and Israeli policies, declaring, "Such terror attacks also tell Bush and Sharon that no stability will be achieved in the region unless the Palestinian issue finds a just and comprehensive solution and the Iraqi people regains sovereignty over their land. Also, violence will not come to a halt unless foreign troops withdraw from Iraq, Israeli forces from Syrian and Lebanese territories."
Similarly, but more emphatically, the Saturday edition of Al-Gomhouriya reiterated that "Egypt's and President Mubarak's warning not to wage an unjustified and illegitimate war on Iraq has been proven true, [in that he warned such a war] would cause violent acts that will threaten the entire world. Egypt has repeatedly stressed the necessity to reach peaceful and just solutions for the Middle East's restive problems, foremost of which is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, through implementing the international resolutions."
The newspaper concluded: "It is not strange, given this gloomy picture that is stained with the blood of the victims in Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere, to see violence and terror reach other places such as the peaceful beaches in South Sinai."
The Akhbar El-Yom newspaper of the same day focused more on the need for international efforts to combat terrorism, emphasizing, "Egyptians who died or were wounded in these attacks, with Israelis, Russians and Britons, are victims of a terror that spreads all over the world. This bloodshed requires all countries and nationalities to cooperate in the face of this terror."
This past Tuesday, a column in the Al-Wafd newspaper asked a question that still has not been definitively answered: "Who stands behind Taba bombings?" The writer, Gamal Badawi, noted the "deliberate and accurate planning" to "achieve the biggest losses among tourists" and the certainty the terrorists must have had that the attacks "would affect world public opinion."
Badawi also pointed to another aspect of the crime and suggested an additional terrorist motivation to strike where and when they did: "[The] plotters know very well that Sinai is the barrier between Egypt and Israel and that the Camp David treaty has determined the volume of security members there. Also, they might think that such bombings would raise tension between Egypt and Israel, a matter that they aim at making use of in order to ignite war between the two countries."
"What fault did those innocent victims in Sinai resorts make to lose their lives in such a brutal way and in Egypt which never spared the effort to support Arabic causes particularly those of Palestinian and Iraq? Can revenge for Iraqi and Palestinians martyrs, as claimed by the unidentified Muslim group, the International Gama'a Islamiya, be taken through killing vacationers in Egypt...?" asked the leading Egyptian daily Al-Ahram in exasperation on the Saturday following the attacks.
While emphasizing the innocence of the victims, and the universality of terrorism, the newspaper still linked the Sinai terrorism to American and Israeli policies, declaring, "Such terror attacks also tell Bush and Sharon that no stability will be achieved in the region unless the Palestinian issue finds a just and comprehensive solution and the Iraqi people regains sovereignty over their land. Also, violence will not come to a halt unless foreign troops withdraw from Iraq, Israeli forces from Syrian and Lebanese territories."
Similarly, but more emphatically, the Saturday edition of Al-Gomhouriya reiterated that "Egypt's and President Mubarak's warning not to wage an unjustified and illegitimate war on Iraq has been proven true, [in that he warned such a war] would cause violent acts that will threaten the entire world. Egypt has repeatedly stressed the necessity to reach peaceful and just solutions for the Middle East's restive problems, foremost of which is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, through implementing the international resolutions."
The newspaper concluded: "It is not strange, given this gloomy picture that is stained with the blood of the victims in Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere, to see violence and terror reach other places such as the peaceful beaches in South Sinai."
The Akhbar El-Yom newspaper of the same day focused more on the need for international efforts to combat terrorism, emphasizing, "Egyptians who died or were wounded in these attacks, with Israelis, Russians and Britons, are victims of a terror that spreads all over the world. This bloodshed requires all countries and nationalities to cooperate in the face of this terror."
This past Tuesday, a column in the Al-Wafd newspaper asked a question that still has not been definitively answered: "Who stands behind Taba bombings?" The writer, Gamal Badawi, noted the "deliberate and accurate planning" to "achieve the biggest losses among tourists" and the certainty the terrorists must have had that the attacks "would affect world public opinion."
Badawi also pointed to another aspect of the crime and suggested an additional terrorist motivation to strike where and when they did: "[The] plotters know very well that Sinai is the barrier between Egypt and Israel and that the Camp David treaty has determined the volume of security members there. Also, they might think that such bombings would raise tension between Egypt and Israel, a matter that they aim at making use of in order to ignite war between the two countries."