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Egyptian forces in fierce battles with Sinai Bedouin jihadist smugglers

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 29, 2010,

Tags: Al Qaeda Egypt Sinai Bedouin

Egyptian special units in Sinai

Violent skirmishes between Egyptian special forces and Bedouin tribesmen have been raging in rugged central Sinai since last Tuesday, May 25, in an effort to shut down the arms- and fighter-smuggling highway they run on behalf of Al Qaeda and the Palestinian Hamas, DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report.
The tribesmen have developed a lucrative trade as Al Qaeda's main clandestine pipeline for moving weapons and fighters out of the Red Sea countries of Somalia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia and over to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The Bedouin also run a regular supply line of arms and goods to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through the Sinai tunnels.

Of late, the Bedouin have expanded their service to running fighters and weapons into the Gaza Strip to bolster Al Qaeda-affiliates.
Cairo has determined to shut down the cross-Sinai smuggling traffic which has run out of control.
DEBKAfile's military sources report that the scale of clashes has escalated to a pitch comparable to the Pakistani army's battles against Al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in the Tribal Areas of Waziristan on the Afghan border. But so far, the Egyptian units have made little headway, although backed by armored personnel carriers, artillery and helicopter gunships.
Saturday, May 29, the Egyptians were forced to retire to El Arish in northern Sinai to recuperate, replenish depleted ammo stocks and collect reinforcements for the next round.
Most of the combat is raging around Wadi Omar, a dry valley in central Sinai bounded by 4,800-ft peaks.
Gen. Mohammad Najab, commander of the Northern Sinai sector, and Gen. Rida Svillan, intelligence chief in that sector, are leading the Egyptians in battle.
The Bedouin, mostly Tarabin tribesmen who control central, north Sinai and the Egyptian-Israel border region, are commanded by Salem Abu Lafi, Al Qaeda's most senior liaison man with the Palestinian Hamas.
In 2008, Abu Lafi broke out of an Egyptian jail and headed back to Sinai, where he raised and trained a Bedouin force for securing the important Middle East smuggling routes.
The Egyptian units battering his mountain strongholds were thrown back by massive heavy machine fire on the few narrow paths climbing up the steep slopes and anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade fire on their APCs. The Bedouin fighters are also using their heavy machine guns to hit Egyptian helicopters.
Cairo has cloaked the entire operation in secrecy. DEBKAfile's military sources calculate that the Egyptian force must be taking casualties - some of them fatalities and including dozens of injured men. .

Frictions between the Egyptian authorities and the Sinai tribesmen have worsened since thousands were arrested after a series of bombings of Sinai resorts between 2004 and 2006, even though many were released later. Some of those rounded up admitted that jihadist ideologies had taken hold of young Bedouin tribesmen since the 9/11 attacks on the United States and the strong appearance of Al Qaeda extremists in Egyptian Sinai and Gaza.

Israel condemns "distorted" Nuclear Non-Proliferation Conference motion

DEBKAfile Special Report May 30, 2010,

Tags: Israel Nuclear-free Mid East Obama

NSA James Jones stands up for Israel at NPT parley

Israel will not implement the unanimous Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review conference resolution due to its "flawed, hypocritical and distorted nature," according to a government statement.
President Barack Obama and senior US officials deplored Israel's mention in the resolution passed by the 189 NPT members Friday, May 29, which called for a Middle East nuclear-free conference in two years, demanded that Israel sign the treaty and submit to international inspections: "We strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel," said Obama, "and will oppose actions that jeopardize Israel's national security."

Leading the US delegation, National Security Adviser James Jones said the failure of the resolution to mention Iran, "which poses the greatest threat of nuclear proliferation in the region and to the integrity of the NPT, is also deplorable."
Iran's chief delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the Americans should "think twice" before making such statements. "This was not the right reaction to a positive response, positive measure by our delegation joining the consensus," he said.

The US had "serious reservations" about the 2012 Middle East conference, said Jones. Its attendance would be voluntary "when all countries feel confident that they can attend," and the singling out of Israel by calling on the Jewish state to join the NPT and submit to UN safeguards placed the prospects of the 2012 conference "in doubt."

The Israeli statement denounced the singling out of the only true democracy in the Middle East and the only country threatened with annihilation. Yet the Iran which is racing to develop nuclear weapons and threatens to wipe Israel off the map was not even mentioned in the resolution.
The US moreover insists on a peace agreement between Israel and its neighbors being put in place before it is required to take steps on its unconfirmed nuclear arsenal.

DEBKAfile adds: This counts as the Obama administration's policy of continued support for the Jewish state's policy of nuclear ambiguity espoused by its predecessors and acceptance in advance of Israeli absenting itself from the Middle East nuclear disarmament conference in two years time.
However, after the Obama administration voted for the NPT motion mentioning Israel, the firstUS government to do so in 15 years, Israel is likely to hold out for guarantees beyond verbal statements that Washington will thwart future steps against its interests. Jerusalem has made preservation of its security a sine qua non for progress in peace diplomacy. These issues will certain be raised at the White House meeting next Tuesday, June 1 between president Obama and visiting Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, together with the climate of war engendered by Hizballah's long-range Scud missile buildup by Syria just short the Lebanese border, as revealed first by DEBKAfile and confirmed Friday, May 28 by Netanyahu in a conversation with Italian prime minister Silva Berlusconi.