Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
CairoFor the second time in a few days, the head of the Egyptian Information Service, Dr. Diaa Rashwan, issued a new official statement against Israel, in which he expressed, in a sharp and firm tone, Egypt’s official positions on the recent Israeli accusations directed against it, accusing the occupying state of exporting extremist officials to lie to Egypt and its army. The threat to the peace treaty and its limits.
Experts and observers who spoke to Tel Aviv Tribune Net believe that there are indications for Cairo’s authorization of the Egyptian Information Service and its head, Diaa Rashwan, to carry out this mission, the most important of which is the announcement that Egypt has adopted an escalatory speech appropriate to escalating the Israeli occupation on the ground, without issuing official positions from other institutions, to keep the door open to Israeli officials to back down.
The Information Service is a governmental body affiliated with the Presidency of the Republic in accordance with the Republican Decree issued on September 6, 2012. It carries out its role as an “official media body” to explain the state’s policy at the internal and external levels, and to convey facts about the country to the international media, according to what is stated in the regulating laws. .
Diaa Rashwan (64 years old) has been the head of the body since 2017, in addition to currently holding the position of general coordinator of the national dialogue. He is considered one of the most prominent people close to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
New red line
Rashwan announced – in a statement – on the evening of January 22 this year a new red line for Egypt, which is Israel’s occupation of the Philadelphia/Salah al-Din Corridor, next to the first Egyptian red line, which is the displacement of Palestinians from their lands, accusing Israeli officials, among whom he named Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of lying. The claim and violation of the peace treaty, and the threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations.
The head of the Information Service stressed that “Egypt has a strong army capable of protecting its borders with all efficiency and discipline,” and that Egypt “is capable of defending its interests and sovereignty over its land and borders, and will not mortgage it in the hands of a group of extremist Israeli leaders.”
On January 12, Rashwan categorically denied what he considered “allegations and lies” by the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice, that Egypt was preventing the passage of relief aid to Gaza, stressing that Egypt had never closed the Rafah crossing, and that Israel was trying to escape its likely condemnation. committing war crimes and genocide.
A power of attorney has its own reasons
For his part, former Ambassador Abdullah Al-Ashaal, former Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a strategic expert in the Arab-Israeli conflict, explains that the statements of the State Information Service are taken into account in the official foreign position, because they are affiliated with the Presidency of the Republic, but they are considered less important than the statements of the Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Al-Ashaal said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, “I believe that entrusting the Information Service with this task came as it is the weakest official link in denial, and therefore the state can easily retreat from its positions in times of need, in contrast to the statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, and the army, on which a position can be formed, given the situation.” Keeping in mind that the most important statement on these military matters is the army’s statement, then the presidential statement, then the Foreign Ministry’s statement.”
The former diplomat downplays the impact of the SIS’s designation of a new sovereign red line, unless the sovereign state agencies announce it explicitly, according to him, adding, “Those positions are worthless, because if Israel finds it necessary to occupy the corridor, it will do so, and any position does not matter.” Egyptian as long as Washington supports Israel,” according to his opinion.
However, academic professor of political science, Dr. Khairy Omar, disagrees with Al-Ashaal regarding the degree of importance of the Authority’s statements. He said in an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “The Information Authority is one of the state institutions, and its words are taken seriously, and it has consideration, especially since it takes the place of the Ministry of Information, and therefore its level.” It is considered especially since the contents of the same statements that were issued were mentioned by state agencies in previous times, directly or indirectly.”
An attempt to escalate the tone
For his part, the strategic expert specializing in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Camp David Accords, Muhammad Ismat Seif al-Dawla, believes that Egypt’s use of the Information Service is an attempt by it to escalate the tone of its official statements against what Israel is committing in terms of crimes of genocide and forced displacement, or its perceived statements about… Its intentions to reoccupy the Philadelphia Axis.
Saif al-Dawla said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, “It is time for the Egyptian state to begin escalating the tone of its official statements, in a step to transform this official verbal escalation into an escalation on the ground, as Israel does not care much about any statements.”
Saif al-Dawla explains his goal of the escalation on the ground: “The state must push the largest number of Egyptian forces to the border and break the restrictions imposed on us since 1979. Otherwise, there will be great dangers to Sinai and to Egypt’s national security, especially with all these Israeli crowds around Gaza,” according to him. Suggested.
The strategic expert adds, “If there is someone in the Egyptian authority who still adheres to this unfair treaty, then he must categorically reject Israel’s violation of its terms by reoccupying the Philadelphia axis, especially since the Egyptian state or any other country has no right to give Israel any right to occupy lands.” Palestinian”.
Official warning
For his part, journalist Qutb Al-Arabi, former Assistant Secretary-General of the Supreme Press Council in Egypt, describes the SIS’s response as “a new type of level of official response with which the state wants to strongly warn Israel, without the warning coming from the presidency or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially since the original is that The Information Service is specialized in dealing with what is published by foreign media, and not responding to statements issued by officials of other countries.
Speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Al-Arabi explains this step by saying, “The Egyptian authority does not want escalation with the Israeli side, or perhaps it wants a mild escalation, so the Information Service responds as if it is not responding directly to the statements of Israeli officials, but rather is responding to what the media published attributed to those officials, as if it were “She wanted to keep the door open to different interpretations from those in charge.”
