(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Yoni Ben Menachem - Egypt is under pressure from Saudi Arabia to agree to a Turkish foothold in Gaza, linked to the easing of the blockade and the building of a floating seaport that would enable Turkish ships to reach Gaza. Hamas pins great hopes on Turkey's efforts to get Israel to ease the blockade on Gaza and build the seaport in return for normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations. The Egyptians strongly oppose Turkey's demand because of its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed by Egypt, and because of Hamas' involvement in terror within Egypt. Highlighting Turkish and Hamas connections with the Muslim Brotherhood terror gang that assassinated Egypt's prosecutor general in Cairo on June 29, 2015, helps Egypt rebuff the Saudi pressures. The writer is former director general and chief editor of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
2016-03-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive