Among the many reasons that normally circumspect analysts harshly criticized the Obama administration’s moves to cut off assistance to Egypt’s army-backed government – the importance of bilateral military ties, the need to support Egyptian counter-terror efforts, etc. – one persistent theme involved the worry that Russia would gladly fill in...

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Deutsche Welle assessed last week that the coming year will likely witness a continuing decline in Hamas’s domestic and regional positions, with the German outlet quoting Gaza-based political scientist Mukhaimar Abusaada bluntly evaluating that under “under the current circumstances 2014 is going to be a very bad year” for the Iran-backed terror group....

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Egyptian officials on Tuesday brought to court the country’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked former president Mohammed Morsi to stand trial on charges relating to a 2011 jail break, as continuing violence targeting Egyptian political and security institutions continued to rock the country for the second week in a row. General Mohamed Saeed, head of the Interior...

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Egyptian army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was yesterday cleared to run for president by the country’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), setting the stage for what is widely expected to be an easy glide into the presidency by the broadly popular and seemingly teflon military figure. Following a decree issued by Egypt’s interim President Adly...

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Islamists over the weekend released a tape showing fighters from the Al Qaeda-aligned Ansar Jerusalem jihadist group using a surface-to-air missile (SAM) to down an Egyptian helicopter operating in the northern Sinai Peninsula, the first time the group has demonstrated the capability to successfully deploy SAMs. David Barnett, a research...

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At least six people were killed and 70 more were injured last Friday when Islamists launched three attacks against Cairo police stations, including against the city’s main headquarters, and by the end of the day, outside a Giza city movie theater. The attacks were claimed by Ansar Jerusalem, a Sinai-based Al Qaeda-linked jihadist...

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The U.S.-Egypt relationship is in danger of further deterioration, with a diplomatic snub last week having revived Egyptian frustrations that first crystallized when the Obama administration last fall took the widely criticized and now functionally reversed decision to partially halt military aid to Cairo.Washington’s broadside was made in response to the army’s July removal...

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The Daily Beast this morning published an extensive investigation, written by the outlet’s Eli Lake, describing the Obama administration’s efforts to lobby inside Israel on behalf of specific conditions outlined by a U.S.-backed peace deal. Special administration envoy Martin Indyk has been “quietly been meeting with Israeli reservist generals and...

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Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawy yesterday announced that he would back Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for president should the latter run, a day after Egyptian outlet Al-Hayat reported that the army chief would indeed soon quit his post to pursue the presidency. Sisi came to the decision “in light of wide...

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Reuters reported last week that Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom will attend the Jan. 20-22 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, the latest in what is becoming a steady stream of evidence signaling warming ties between Jerusalem and traditional U.S. allies in the Arab world. Energy Minister Silvan Shalom is set to attend the Jan. 20-22...

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