23 Aug 2011, Al Ahram Online http://english.ahram.org.eg (Egypt)
Khalid Amayreh
Egypt must respond resolutely to Israel's unjust killing of five of its border police, in order to show that post-revolutionary Egypt is different than under Mubarak
The cold-blooded killing of five Egyptian soldiers at the hands of Israeli security forces on Thursday, 18 August, is another blatant violation of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. It is also a brazen violation of Egyptian sovereignty, national dignity and territorial integrity.
The unprovoked killings occurred inside Egyptian territory, which shows that they were carried out deliberately and maliciously. The fact that Israeli troops were clashing with suspected Palestinian resistance fighters doesn't justify targeting and killing Egyptians. Hence, the only conclusion one would draw from this murderous episode is that Israel is simply testing Egypt's patience and national will to defend its citizens, civilians as well as soldiers, against characteristic Israeli insolence and belligerency.
This is not the first time Israeli forces choose to target Egyptian security forces stationed along the Palestine-Egypt borders. During Israel's criminal onslaught against the Gaza Strip less than three years ago, several Egyptian soldiers and civilians were killed without Israeli officials showing the slightest concern about Egyptian feelings and possible reactions, which suggested that the Zionist regime was not taking Egypt seriously.
That happened when ex-president Hosni Mubarak was at the helm of power in Cairo. Now, with Egypt having freed itself from the shackles of Mubarak's tyranny and subservience to Israel, it is time for the country of 80 million people to show Israel another face. Israelhas long been accustomed to killing Egyptians and other Arabs with impunity. This has got to stop.
No one is suggesting that Egypt embarks on a rash decision to terminate the hapless peace treaty with Israel. However, this doesn't mean that Israel ought to be granted immunity to accountability when it comes to shedding the blood of Egyptian citizens. In the final analysis, none of the treaty's clauses stipulates that Israel has license to murder Egyptians whenever it sees fit.
This is why Egyptian national dignity mandates a tough and uncompromising response from the ruling military council. Prime Minister Essam Sharaft has been quoted as saying the blood of the martyrs wouldn't be shed in vain. The Egyptian government must act on this statement lest Israel mistake inaction for powerlessness if not cowardice.
Egypthas reportedly withdrawn its ambassador to Israel temporarily. This is the very least Egypt should do to show Israel that Egyptian blood is a red line. But more should be done in order to communicate to Israel an unmistakable message that Egypt under the revolution is not the same as Egypt under Mubarak. Hence, the military council as well as the government in Cairo must display resoluteness, toughness and iron-clad commitment to Egyptian national interests.
Egyptis not advised to take uncalculated steps to counter the growing frequency of Israeli assaults. However, in order to assert its national will and dignity, Egypt can and should turn the compass of its strategic outlook regarding Israel.Israelis a manifestly murderous state that rejects peace, flies in the face of all reasonable efforts to justly resolve the enduring Palestinian issue, and insists on playing a flagrantly domineering role that undermines the security, even survival, of the people of the region.
This state of affairs can't be tolerated longer. Hence, Egypt and other capable states in the region must be equipped with the wherewithal to check Israeli bellicosity and hegemony.
One may be prompted to argue that we should allow the voices of wisdom and reason to prevail. Good enough. But with a state that is racist and criminal to the bone, it is futile and dangerous to play the soft card.Israelis not only murdering Palestinian civilians on a near daily basis, it is also decapitating any realistic chance for the establishment of a viable and territorially contiguous state.
Israel, which continues unabated to build settlements for fanatical Jews all over the occupied territories, is completing theprocessof obliterating the Arab-Islamic identity of East Jerusalem, an act that would guarantee the continuity of the conflict indefinitely.The unprovoked spilling of Egyptian blood by Israeli forces last week must meet a response or elsethe same will be repeated.
Israeli leaders insist on the paramount importance of preserving "peace with Egypt". However, actions speak louder than words,and the cold-blooded killing of Egyptian security personnel inside their own country underscores and illustrates Israeli mendacity as well as criminality.
In the final analysis, one doesn't preserve peace with a neighboring country by killing those guarding its borders.
Finally, Israel may choose to offer the families of the martyrs monetary compensation for the purpose of closing the issue. But blood money in this case would be like adding insult to injury.Instead, Egypt must insist on a meaningful apology from the Zionist entity, alongside meaningful financial compensation for the victims' families.
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