Egyptian aircraft bombed targets near the border with Israel early Wednesday and troops raided villages in a crackdown aimed at demonstrating that the Egyptian army and the country’s new president, Mohammed Morsy, are able to assert control in the restive Sinai Peninsula following Sunday’s attack that left 16 Egyptian military personnel dead.
But widely conflicting reports about the military activity and its reported success are indicative of the increasingly polarized situation in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsy, who was narrowly elected in a run-off vote in late June, has come under a torrent of criticism.
Opponents of Morsy blame him for opening the Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai. The lax restrictions, they argue, made it easier for Islamic militants to pass through and enabled them to launch the Sunday evening attack on Egyptian border guards as they were about to break their Ramadan fast. So strong is the apparent frustration with Morsy among some Egyptians that the new president had to absent himself from the massive public funeral procession for his own safety, and his prime minister had to be removed from the scene and rushed to safety by bodyguards. Mourners heckled the premier, shouting, "You killed them, you dog," Egypt’s state-run Ahram Online website reported.
“This is a manifestation of how divided Egypt is right now. Those who participated in the funeral are those who are very critical of the president,” explains Gamal Soltan, director of Cairo’s Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. “He had to choose whether to be in a situation where he might be criticized or even attacked. It was a tough call. The scene of the funeral was another manifestation of the divide in Egypt.”
Morsy took 51.7 percent of the vote in June, while Ahmed Shafik, once an appointee of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, received 48.3 percent. Many of Morsy’s opponents, including secularists, Christian Copts, and proponents of liberal democracy have kept a slightly lower profile in recent months because of the Brotherhood’s apparently overwhelming popularity. Now, there are cracks in the veneer, giving way to more vocal criticism of Morsy and the Islamist political orientation he represents.
“In the current debate after the attacks, we’re seeing how divided the Egyptians are on who is to be blamed, and many blame Morsy himself and the Muslim Brothers in general,” Soltan added.
The rush to execute airstrikes – carried out around the town of Sheikh Zuwai close to the border with Gaza – look like bluster to some. Critics on the Cairo talkshow circuit and on Twitter asked whether the military actions had actually achieved anything or were just an attempt to show that they could act swiftly and forcefully. Other attacks on police stations in recent months had gone unanswered. Several local reporters said they were unable to confirm the 20 fatalities as reported on official state television, and couldn’t find any witnesses who had seen bodies or injured people being admitted to hospitals.
In addition to the military action, Morsy also announced late Wednesday afternoon that he was replacing his intelligence chief, military police commander and North Sinai governor, a presidential spokesperson said. The shake-up of senior officials was clearly aimed at laying blame at the feet of those responsible for the security situation in the Sinai and for the intelligence lapses that allowed the military establishment to be so taken by surprise.
The Muslim Brotherhood, while taking a much more moderate line than the Salafist politicians Morsy has sidelined by leaving them out of his cabinet, has long been critical of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel. A report in Cairo's Al Youm Al Sabea newspaper says the attack was executed by the radical Salafi group Takfir Wal Hijra, who thinks that the Brotherhood is not nearly bold enough in its challenge to the status quo vis-à-vis Israel. The report also said that the Army of Islam may have taken part in the attack.
Brotherhood sympathizers have suggested that Egypt’s hands are tied when it comes to securing the Sinai because of the limitations of the Camp David Peace Accords, which demand a largely demilitarized Sinai. But Israeli officials have made clear that they are willing to bend to meet Egyptian needs on this matter, and even in the past year had allowed for more troops to be stationed in Sinai. However, out of seven battalions to which Israel gave the green light, apparently only one was added, confirms Zvi Mazel, Israel’s former ambassador to Egypt.
“Six or seven months ago, there was a crisis, so both armies agreed to pushing seven battalions into Sinai. They never did it. They probably sent one, even less. In fact, they don’t use what they have at their disposal, though that may change, and in the short run, there will be some cooperation,” he says.
“This is also a very big dilemma for Morsy and the Muslim brothers. They had to do this operation for their own public opinion, but what’s next?'" Mazel asks. "Are they going to invest money to improve the situation there? Are they going to cooperate with us to control terror in the Sinai?”
Soltan said this week was Morsy’s greatest test so far, and Egyptians will be watching to see how he handles it. “It’s a divided society passing through an extremely difficult time,” Soltan adds. “On the other hand, this could be an opportunity to try to bridge the divide. It could assure those who have doubts about him if he can prove himself.”