Egypt has taken the first step towards revoking the citizenship of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar, according to a report appearing on Monday. The Times of Israel reported: Major General Hussein al-Ridi, an assistant to the interior minister for immigration and citizenship issues, told Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya that a request...

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Egypt’s Coptic Christian community is expected to overwhelmingly back Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in this month’s presidential election. Hailed as a savior for overthrowing an Islamist president, former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi can count on the vote of Egypt’s Coptic Christians who view him as a bulwark against fundamentalists. The Copts...

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Reuters on Friday published a wide-ranging analysis – headlined “Egypt’s [Abdel-Fattah El-] Sisi turns Islam on the Islamists” – documenting a range of moves and statements being made by the country’s presumptive next president suggesting that Sisi appears to be positioning himself as a “religious reformer”: With references to God...

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Analysis published this week by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) conveyed a variety of indicators – ranging from public data about Israeli-Egyptian energy agreements to recent statements by Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi – converging on the conclusion that Cairo is making a concentrated effort to boost and insulate bilateral...

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An interview with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi aired Monday – the first televised sit-down that the presumptive future president has done during the current campaign – saw Sisi declaring that the Muslim Brotherhood would not be allowed to operate as a national movement under his administration, accusing the Islamist movement of...

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South African security site DefenceWeb on Monday rounded up developments surrounding last week’s announcement by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that he would block additional security assistance to the Egyptian army as a result of his “growing dismay” at Cairo’s heavy-handed tactics against the Muslim Brotherhood, a move that came after...

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The U.S. and the United Kingdom reported the first cases of the camel-borne Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus on their respective territories over the last few days, and aim to clamp down before it spreads and possibly kills. There have been 300-400 reported cases thus far, with 100 deaths. America...

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A diplomatic spat between Turkey and Germany over the human rights policies of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government escalated on Wednesday, as Turkish outlets conveyed critical remarks directed at Erdogan by German President Joachim Gauck regarding the behavior of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Gauck had...

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Egyptian outlets on Tuesday carried reports that Saudi Arabia would – per a writeup in the English-language Egypt Independent – “announce a large aid package to Egypt if former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wins the elections,” a scenario that analysts broadly if not universally anticipate will play out. Saudi...

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As part of its ongoing clampdown on smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian army uncovered six tunnels over the weekend that started inside a mosque (Arabic link) on the Egyptian side of the border. A military spokesman said in a statement, on the official page of the Armed...

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