Egypt, Egyptian - The Peace FAQ
Egypt Frequently Asked Questions: ● ●
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Who are the real Egyptians? Is the peace between Israel and Egypt a model for peace between Israel and the rest of the Arab world? What is the relationship between the USA and Egypt? When was the last time Egypt's leader, Hosni Mubarak, has traveled to visit his neighbor in peace, Israel? What is the official Egyptian position on Jews? Why is Egypt arming itself to the teeth? Why did Israel give the Sinai to Egypt?
Who are the real Egyptians? ●
Coptic Christians in Egypt Umar II Egypt was proselytized, it is said, by St. Mark and was one of the earliest Christian countries. Its demise to a Muslim nation is instructional, especially when one considers how Islam protests its tolerance towards the dhimmis. The Pact of Umar imposed discrimination on the non-Muslims. Not only did they have to pay the jizya but they lost ownership of their land and, to be able to use it, had to pay land tax, the kharaj. Nor were they allowed to build new churches or repair old ones. Church bells, crosses,; banners and sacred books were banned and services had to be held in silence. Marriage or sexual intercourse with a Muslim woman and blasphemy against Islam were capital offences. They were made to wear discriminatory clothing a~d were allowed to ride donkeys but not horses or camels. Without a receipt for the jizya, the dhimmi could be executed.
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In 724 CE, twenty four thousand Christian Copts converted to Islam to avoid destitution. Thousands of other Copts revolted against the taxes and were killed: their women and children were sold into slavery. The Pact of Umar disallowed dhimmis from exerting any authority over Muslims, so they could not join the army or become civil servants. In the reign of Caliph Al-Hakim (996-1020) all churches and synagogues were looted and demolished or converted into mosques. For a while they were allowed to be rebuilt but in 1058 all churches were closed. Persecution continued throughout the centuries and the number of Copts grew fewer and fewer. At the time of the Muslim conquest there had been twenty five million Christians with forty five thousand churches and monasteries but by the beginning of the nineteenth century they had fallen to one hundred and fifty thousand with two hundred and fifty partially destroyed churches. British occupation helped remove legal disabilities against the Copts and from 1884 many resurfaced until now they number nearly nine million.' Husan Al Banna Al Banna founded the Ikhwan Muslimoon, the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928. Many were his pledges. One of the most important was "the jihad of which Muslims have grown ignorant and negligent and do not know that this is the criterion of faith... of sacrificing everything to achieve Paradise. To pledge... the suzerainty (paramount authority) of Islam over the whole world".2 He pledged the enforcement of the Shariah. The Ikhwan "works for the establishment of Islam ..... the entire world" 3 .... . to make His Word supreme in the whole world" 4 "It should raise the flag of Jihad and the Call towards Allah till the entire world is benefited by the Islamic teachings."5 The Ikhwan should work for an Islamic government in its own country making sure that non-Muslims are not entrusted with any powers of office. This has, in large part, been enforced in Egypt. Coptic Christians who make up twenty percent of the population seldom advance to the senior ranks of the military, security, diplomatic services or any instrumentality for that matter. By the 1940s, the Muslim Brotherhood were strong enough to attack Copts and burn their churches. The Ikhwan was under the patronage of King Farouk who wanted to set up a theocratic state with himself as the Caliph of all Muslims. In 1952 after hearing the Friday sermon in a mosque in the City of Suez, a Muslim mob armed with butchers' hooks dragged nine Christians into the St. Antonius Coptic Church and burned them http://www.peacefaq.com/egypt.html (2 of 12)8/9/2007 10:14:47 AM
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alive.6 The murderers and the inflammatory sheikh were never brought to justice. From 1965 to 1973 while Egypt was friendly to the USSR, the rightwing Ikhwan was proscribed but this did not mean that Nasser and Sadat were even-handed with the Copts. Apparently Sadat had been a member of the Egyptian Nazi Party and of the Muslim Brotherhood in his earlier years.7 Legally the Christians have full citizenship but this is not so in practice. While the market is flooded with anti-Copt books and newspapers, the Christians find it hard for their material to pass the censors. State television and radio constantly broadcast Muslim speeches attacking the Copts who receive no right of reply. Christian schools have been closed and confiscated without compensation while Muslim schools are financed and encouraged. Medical schools do not accept non-Muslims in their departments of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. State universities and colleges admit Christian Students but this is not so in the al-Azhar University which is for Muslims only. A recent stratagem is to open up colleges, in secular subjects such as nursing, as branches of the Islamic University so that all their graduates will be Muslims. In May 1978, Muslim fundamentalists at Assuyuit University took fifty Christian students hostage for two days in an effort to make it a hundred percent Muslim institution. The governor took no action against the students; he was well-known for his statement: "the enemies of Egypt, are Christianity, Zionism and Communism". Scores of similar if smaller incidents took place in other colleges and universities. In the same month and in June, three churches were destroyed in Touk-Delka and in Minyia. No action was taken against the extremists. Four weeks later two Sunday-school teachers were machine-gunned to death, hacked with swords and thrown into the Nile. The murderers were apprehended and confessed but they were released "on religious grounds". Explosives were placed in three churches with the aim of killing the infidels celebrating Christmas. Rather than aid the Copts against their persecutors, President Sadat accused them of sedition and conspiring to discredit Egypt and Islam. He emphasized that he was a Muslim president in a Muslim country and quoted the Qur'an: "Those who fight Allah and his apostle, and spread disorder in the land (Blame the victim again!) shall be put to http://www.peacefaq.com/egypt.html (3 of 12)8/9/2007 10:14:47 AM
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death or crucified, or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or banished from the country" (5:33) He exiled Pope Shenouda III, jailed eight bishops, twenty three priests and one hundred and fifty laymen. They were not able to defend themselves and a barrage against them filled the mass media. The only two Christian newspapers were banned. The Muslim extremists certainly got the message to increase their attacks. A Coptic businessman had bought land in Cairo for a factory and a church difficult as it was to have one built. Muslim extremists wanted to take the land by force and build a mosque on it quoting a hadith "Allah gave the world to Muhammad and to the Muslims after him".8 On the 17th June, 1981 one of the largest massacres in Egypt in recent times occurred. While thousands of police massed around the plot of land for two days the Islamic warriors reduced more than one hundred and fifty homes and shops to rubble or burnt them. They prevented fire engines from reaching the scene. More than a hundred Copts were killed while three Muslims died. (Should one fight back?) "To please the US government and the American Press, President Sadat blamed the communists. He prevented foreign correspondents entering the district or interviewing the relatives of the victims."9 The Egyptian Government also suppressed information about scores of other murders of Christians. It was ironic when, on the 6th October 1981, the Ikhwan assassinated President Sadat for the "appeasement of Israel", because his domestic policy was actively promoting their cause. President Mubarak has continued the same policy of oppression and discrimination against Egyptian Christians. It was not until after widespread world-wide campaigns that Pope Shenouda was allowed to return in 1985. However persecution continues up to the present day. A non-Muslim cannot give evidence in court. Any legal agreement between a Muslim and an "infidel" is only binding on the "unbeliever." Job opportunities are restricted: Muslim companies which are owned by oil-rich governments do not hire Christians. It is difficult for a Christian to establish his own business and even then he may be forced to hire Muslims instead of Copts or face destruction of his livelihood. Newly constructed apartments are rented only to Muslims. Christians who convert to Islam will be immediately granted an apartment, a lump sum of money and a job.10 Christians are everywhere harassed in a psychological struggle to force them to apostacise. Christians are not allowed to build new churches or repair old ones. Some who have attempted to convert other buildings to church use have been murdered or had their homes burned. No action is taken http://www.peacefaq.com/egypt.html (4 of 12)8/9/2007 10:14:47 AM
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against the Muslims responsible. While there are, as yet, no laws against apostasy from Islam, the missionary or the convert may be convicted on other charges, for example "threatening social peace and intercommunal relations". There is, however, a Supreme Court ruling that a Moslem who apostacises is legally dead. He loses all rights and powers. He cannot withdraw funds from his accounts. Any person who kills him does not commit murder from a legal point of view because he is already legally dead. The "dead" person cannot marry or inherit. Nor is it possible for an apostate to have his identity card changed to "Christian". More than one hundred and fifty Muslims who have adopted Christianity have been detained in maximum-security prisons. They have been accused of threatening national unity. One example from a Coptic press release, concerned the case of Dr. Abdul-Rahman who has been held in Cairo without trial for two years for breaking with Islam. He is in solitary confinement but his will has not been broken. He is undoubtedly being used as a warning to anyone else contemplating apostasy. REFERENCES 1. P18 "The Copts Since the Arab Invasion". Shawky F. Karas The American, Canadian & Australian C. Coptic Associations New Jersey 1985. 2. Pviii "The Muslim Brotherhood" Saeed Hawwa, Hindustan Publications, Delhi 1983
Is the peace between Israel and Egypt a model for peace between Israel and the rest of the Arab world? ●
The first Arab state to sign peace treaty with the Jewish state, as before, considers Israel to be its number one enemy. In September 1996 Egypt conducted military exercises including the crossing of the Suez Canal [a breach of the Camp David Accords, and of peace with Israel]. The code name for this exercises was "Badr-96." The crossing of the Canal in the October 1973 had the same code name-Badr. The editor of the state-owned major Egyptian daily al-Ahram newspaper explained that "the lessons of Badr'73 and Badr'96 take us back to the starting point...that the end of war does not necessarily mean the achievement of peace, and vice-versa."
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What is the relationship between the USA and Egypt? ●
The U.S. bribes Egypt with 2.5 billion dollars per year to maintain the facade of peace with Israel.
When was the last time Egypt's leader, Hosni Mubarak, has traveled to visit his neighbor in peace, Israel? ●
There isn't a last time. He never has. It would not be tolerated.
What is the official Egyptian position on Jews? ●
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Egypt is one of the world's largest producers of antisemitic and AntiIsrael propaganda in the world. Buford Furrow, the neo-Nazi who shot up the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles "has a goal to annihilate the Jewish race in the United States. I ask God to assist him in his efforts to attain this goal. Let us all join together saying, 'May it be God's will'." Akhbar Al-Yom, August 13, 1999, the Egyptian government newspaper with a circulation of over 700,000
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"Anti-Semitism continues to thrive in the Egyptian media. Derogatory images and harsh accusations against Jews and Judaism have persevered through bad and good times...Anti-Semitic stereotypes continue to be prevalent in cartoons, caricatures, opinion columns, and other media, where Jews are often depicted as dirty, hooknosed, money-hungry world dominators. Comparisons of Israel (both Likud and Labor governments) with the Nazis, denial of the Holocaust and traditional libels are also common...[M]any are printed in the government-backed press, including the largest Egyptian daily, Al Ahram, Al Goumhurriya and the popular magazine October. - Anti-Defamation League, "Anti-Semitism in the Egyptian Media, Spring 1998-Spring 1999
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Then there was Egypt, the first Arab country to recognize Israel and to sign a peace treaty with it. Yet even after fifteen years of living under the regime of this treaty, the Egyptians showed little sign of diminished animosity toward the Jewish state or indeed toward Jews
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in general. Apart from many other symptoms, one stood out with special virulence: the controlled Egyptian press was full of the most egregious lies about Israel, as well as cartoons reminiscent of the Nazi period in their anti-Semitic ugliness, and Cairo was a leading center for the publication and distribution of anti-Semitic literature, including The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. - Norman Podhoretz, Commentary Magazine, Dec. 1996
Why is Egypt arming itself to the teeth? ●
EGYPT: RISING PHOENIX IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Shawn M. Pine In September 1996, Egypt held its largest strategic maneuvers ever. The exercise was code named Badr-96 and involved over 35,000 soldiers, including a canal crossing and liberating of a "besieged city." (1) The "enemy" in this exercise was Israel.(2) It is routine for major militarily exercises to have code names and to involve fictitious enemies. However, it is most unusual for a country to conduct such an exercise in which the "enemy" is one that the country is presumably at peace with. Egypt, regardless of its intentions, sent a disturbing message to Israel by naming the exercise in honor of its last war with Israel, and by identifying Israel as the enemy. These events take on even more significant meaning when one looks at the transformation of the Egyptian military forces over the past decade. Egypt, since 1985, has undertaken serious efforts to achieve conventional military parity with Israel and currently fields the 13th largest military in the world.(3) Relying on $2.1 billion of annual aid from the US, $1.3 billion in military assistance, is currently modernizing and building-up its military forces to such an extent that it is approaching the quantitative and qualitative levels of the Israeli Defense Forces. In 1994, Egypt surpassed the United States to become the second largest arms importer, behind Saudi Arabia, in the world.(4) Egypt, in a region thatleads the world in the import of weapons, is the only Middle East country to have increased its arms purchases yearly since 1990.(5) Since the early 1980's, Egypt has completed two five-year plans, and has embarked on a third one, to buildup, modernize, and increase its military capabilities.(6) The first five-year plan, which started in 1983, consisted of rebuilding Egypt's military infrastructure that was destroyed during the 1973 Arab - Israeli War. The primary focus of these efforts included construction of new bases and communications
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systems.(7) From 1988 to 1993, Egypt channeled funds into the air force by purchasing American F-16s and upgrading its command and control and air-defense capabilities.(8) In the current five-year plan, the air force continues to receive priority. Egypt spends as much as 80 percent of US military aid on the air force. As part of the 'Peace Vector Program', the Egyptian air force has made four orders of F-16s, totaling 190 planes. About 130 F-16s have already arrived and the last batch, which will be assembled in Turkey, will start arriving around 1997.(9) Egypt has also obtained approval for the purchase of 21 F-16C aircraft.(10) Egypt's defense capabilities were greatly enhanced by the acquisition of 180 Hawk and 1,000 Hellfire II missile.(11) Additionally, Egypt has been cooperating with the US to develop an advanced C 3I system that will assimilate data from air and ground sources into a single network so that aircraft and missile systems can engage multiple targets simultaneously.(12) Egypt has enhanced its airborne early warning capabilities by taking delivery of five Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes.(13) Today, Egypt has the largest air force in the Arab world, with over 550 airplanes, more than half of which are of Western origin. The Egyptians are also acquiring a modern helicopter fleet. Egypt has already received delivery of 24 Apaches (AH-64A), and is expected to take delivery of twelve more.(14) These helicopters posses state-of-the-art nightflying equipment and carry up to 16 Hellfire antitank weapons and 38 rockets.(15) The improvement of the Egyptian air force is not limited to combat planes. The Egyptian air force, according to Israeli military analysts, have adopted Western command and control, attack techniques, support and aerial combat roles as well as training, most of it at US facilities. The Egyptians have also purchased advance ordnance, avionics and accessories.(16) In addition to its air force, Egypt has modernized its ground forces. Until the late 1970s, the Egyptian army comprised 10 divisions, only half of them either mechanized or armored. Today, the army has 12 divisions, all but one of them is either mechanized or armored, and plans to field a total mechanized army by 2005.(17) The result is that the Egyptian army is now capable of fielding a modern mechanized military that can move with the speed and firepower equal to that of most modern armies. The mechanized divisions consist of 4,500 armored personnel carriers, the core of which consists of 2,000 US M-113's. However, Egypt is in the process of taking delivery of 611 Dutch YPR-765 armored infantry fighting vehicles to replace its BMP forces.(18) The armored corps has also undergone serious reform. In the 1970s, the Egyptian armored corps was comprised almost exclusively of Soviet tanks, the best of which was the T-62. Today, Egypt's armored corps is comprised of the most modern US tanks. First, Cairo acquired 850 M-60 A3s, and formed two armored divisions. After the Gulf War, the Egyptians began to assemble the US-made M1A1, which is widely regarded as one of the
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finest tanks in the world, under the 'Factory 200' program. Egypt currently has 1,700 M-60's (1,100 M-60A3's), and approximately 200 M1A1's in addition to approximately 1,600 Soviet tanks.(19) Egypt also plans to upgrade all M60A1 tanks to A3 standards.(20) Additionally, Egypt is expanding its own domestic production of military armaments. The M1A1 'Factory 200' program is a major milestone in Egyptian efforts to achieve limited military selfsufficiency. Egypt obtained US approval in 1984 to build a giant factory to produce new tanks. Under the agreement, the Egyptians will assemble 524 M1A1 tanks and officials hope that will eventually rise to 1,500 tanks.(21) Six production cycles were established with each increment increasing the level of technology from General Dynamics Land Systems.(22) The cost is estimated at $3.2 billion. The Egyptians also will produce the 120-mm cannon as well as an increasing number of parts for the tank. Egyptian officials say the goal is to make Cairo self-sufficient in tank production. Egypt has also substantially improved its anti-tank capability with the acquisition of 500 TOW-2 missiles and its intention to buy 540 TOW launchers.(23) Egypt has also taken steps to improve its navy. Egypt is focusing on upgrading the Egyptian fleet of eight submarines acquired from China. Egypt has leased two former US navy Knox class missile frigates and is expected to receive 10 ex-US Navy Seasprite ASW helicopters upgraded to SH-2G(E) standards.(24) As part of its inculcation of Western technology, the navy holds joint maneuvers with units of the American, French, British and Italian navies. Egypt is also modernizing four Chinese-built Romeo class submarines with improved weapon systems including Harpoon missiles, fire control systems and sonars.(25) Egypt is bordered by Libya, Sudan, and Israel. While Sudan's Islamic regime is ideologically troublesome, its 300 main battle tanks (250 of which are T-54/55's), and some 50 combat aircraft pose a negligible military threat to Egypt. On paper, Libya's military is far more formidable than Sudan's. However, its forces hardly pose a military threat to Egypt. Some 1,600 of Libya's 2,200 tanks are old Soviet T54/5's. Moreover, a lack of manpower has forced Libya to place over half of these tanks, as well as many of its 400 aircraft, in storage, thereby making Libya little more than a massive arms depot.(26) It is significant to note, that Libya's 80,000 man military is less than twenty percent the size of Egypt's. Finally, despite the triangle of tension between Egypt, Sudan, and Libya, they have generally demonstrated a willingness to support each other over perceived panIslamic issues.(27) Consequently, there is little doubt that Israel is the target of Egypt's massive military buildup. Indeed, an examination of Egyptian perspectives towards Israel leaves little doubt that Egypt has not ruled out the prospect of a future conflict with Israel. Former Egyptian President Sadat's support of expanded relations
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with Israel never came to fruition as Egypt's intellectual, political, and economic elite continued to shun Israel as a regional actor.(28) The passage of time has not improved Egyptian perceptions toward, or its acceptance of, Israel.(29) The Egyptian Bar Association continues to burn American and Israel flags on every anniversary of the signing of the 1979 peace treaty.(30) Nor has the Palestinian Israeli peace process resulted in a softening of Egypt's harsh rhetoric toward Israel. In 1996, Egyptian criticisms of Israel reached such a crescendo as to provoke official complaints from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli President Ezer Weizman, and even from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.(31) A study of Egyptian university graduates, who were in college during the signing of the Egyptian - Israeli peace treaty, found that 92.8 percent believed that Israeli was an expansionist, aggressive, state headed by terrorists.(32) However, Egyptian rejection of Israel is not confined to Egypt's intellectual, political, and economic elite, but permeates throughout the Egyptian population. An Egyptian public opinion poll showed that 98 percent of the people opposed full normalization of relations with Israel. The same poll showed that 97 percent opposed cultural ties, 96 percent opposed economic ties, and that 92 percent opposed normal tourist ties.(33) The fact that these polls were taken well before the election of Benjamin Netanyahu makes Mubarak's remark that "The Egyptian man in the street's feelings towards Israel have worsened ever since Netanyahu came to power" seem rather vacuous.(34) It is important to note, that Egypt's hostility towards Israel is not only ideological but also based upon pragmatic considerations. Egypt is in direct competition with Israel over American economic, military, and political support. Israel and Egypt currently receive almost 42 percent ($5.1 out of a total of $12.2 billion), of all US foreign military assistance. As the United States addresses its national social and economic problems, both countries will be targeted for reductions of aid from the current levels. Additionally, Egypt hopes to replace Israel as the major US strategic ally in the region. Consequently, Egypt has a vested interest in preventing Israeli integration in the region and maintaining an atmosphere of "controlled tension." Finally, Egypt, as with most of the countries in the region, fears that Israeli integration will result in Israeli economic domination in the region. Given this reality, Israeli political leaders and strategic planners would be prudent to reassess the peace process and how it relates to Israel's security. ENDNOTES 1. Badr was the code name of the 1973 Egyptian attack against Israel.
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2. Egyptian Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi reportedly stated that the exercise was training in the event of a nuclear attack by Israel. The Jerusalem Post, September 20, 1996. 3. Egypt's intentions were stated by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. The Jerusalem Post, March 11, 1994. Data on the size of the Egyptian armed forces was taken from US Arms Control Defense Agency (ACDA), 95/13, November 1, 1995. 4. ACDA, 95/13, November 1, 1995. 5. Egypt's 1994 imports is approximately 70 percent higher than its 1990 totals. Ibid. 6. The Jerusalem Post, March 11, 1994. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 10. Jane's Defence Weekly, April 17, 1996, p. 3. Delivery of these aircraft is expected to begin in 1999 and be completed by the year 2000. 11. Jane's Defence Weekly, May 1,1996, p. 8. 12. Jane's Defence Weekly, February 28, 1996, p. 23. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. The Military Balance 1995-1996. Egypt was to take delivery of 24 AH-64's by the end of 1995. 16. The Jerusalem Post, March 11, 1994. 17. Jane's Defence Weekly, February 28, 1996. p. 22. 18. Jane's Defence Weekly, March 6, 1996, p. 23. These AIFV's include 304 YPR-765 PRI's mounted with a 25mm gun and coaxil 7.62mm machine-gun, and 210 YPR-765 PRAT-TOW's. 19. The Military Balance 1995-1996. 20. Jane's Defence Weekly, February 28, 1996. p. 23. 21. Ibid. 22. Jane's Defence Weekly, February 21, 1996, p. 16. 23. Jane's Defence Weekly, February 28, 1996. p. 23. 24. Military and Arms Transfer News, November 1, 1995 and Jane's Defence Weekly, February 28, 1995. 25. Ibid. 26. Data for the Libyan and Sudanese militaries was taken from the IISS Military Balance for 1995. 27. For example, notwithstanding the belief that Sudan was behind the June 1995, assassination attempt on Mubarak's life, Egypt opposed US attempts to impose a military embargo on Sudan. 28. Mosely Ann Lesch and Mark Tessler. Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians: From Camp David to Intifada, (Indiana : Indiana University Press), p. 62. 29. Hosni Mubarak stated that the intelligentsia and the professional in Egypt were as fanatically opposed to the acceptance of Israel as are the fundamentalist militants. The Jerusalem Post, September 7, 1995. 30. The Jerusalem Post, January 1, 1996. 31. The Jerusalem Post, September 20, 24, and October 8, 1996.
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32. The study was conducted by Dr. Ahmed Zaree of Al-Azhar university. His study also revealed that 63 percent of those polled viewed Egyptian - Israeli normalization as a national security threat. The Jerusalem Post, March 3, 1996. 33. The Jerusalem Post, May 3, 1995. 34. Cairo Press Review, November 18, 1996.
Why did Israel give the Sinai to Egypt? ●
They were betrayed by Jimmy Carter who convinced Israel that this gesture would result in true peace.
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