UPDATE: The steady rain of Palestinian Qassam rockets and mortars on southern Israel continues unabated (check israelstreet breaking news). Each of these terrorist launches is followed by the obligatory IAF bombing of buildings in Gaza. Nothing is done by the IDF to bring this ridiculous situation to a halt.
TODAY’S BLOG:
The Egyptian Parliament
The final results of the incredibly convoluted Egyptian elections for the 332 “list” seats in the 498 member Egyptian lower Parliament are finally in:
the hard line Islamist Muslim Brotherhood won 127 seats (38%)
the even harder line Islamist Al-Nour Party won 96 seats (29%)
the “liberal” New Wafd Party won 36 seats
the Egyptian Bloc Party won 33 seats
the “Revolution Continues” coalition of young people won 7 seats
The actual number of Islamists elected will be even greater than that indicated by the results above because many of the individuals running for the remaining 166 ‘individual’ seats in the 498 seat lower Parliament are also Islamists.
Ashwagandha Root: Ashwagandha browse around now now generic cialis online root treats erectile dysfunction by giving your sexual energy a boost. Relationships and marriages have ended as a result of erectile dysfunction and almost one in every three instances consists of a psychological addiction. buy tadalafil in australia, levitra, levitra 60 mg and amerikabulteni.com have given to million of men the possibility to feel themselves machos, to regularly satisfy their dears partners, thus to fully having sex. Online Kamagra tablets give individuals easy and simple viagra price medium of purchase. Protect Your Self Image Few of sildenafil generico viagra us have acknowledged it.
Does this embrace of radical Islamists make any difference? It appears as if the Egyptian military has regained its swagger and is brooking no interference in its governing of the country despite its promise to turn over power to an elected president in June. On Wednesday, Egyptian leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi posted these remarks in the Egyptian media:
“Egypt is facing grave schemes and conspiracies it has not seen before. The armed forces is the backbone that protects Egypt. These schemes are aimed at targeting that backbone. We will not allow it and will carry out our task perfectly to hand over the nation to an elected civilian administration.”
He should have added: “an elected civilian administration under Egyptian military control.”
According to activists, the military has killed at least 80 protestors since October and put more than 12,000 civilians before military tribunals. In advance of the anniversary of the overthrow of President Mubarak (who is surreally still being tried for killing protestors and imprisoning activists as these current events take place), the military has begun ordering the arrest of protest leaders from across the political spectrum. They are being accused of being “agents for foreign powers.”
General Tantawi arrives in Libya
More than this, Tantawi is now acting like Egypt’s new leader by going on his first ‘international’ tour. On Monday, he flew into Tripoli to discuss boosting the Libyan economy, enhancing trade between Libya and Egypt, and extraditing members of the Qadafi government who sought refuge in Egypt.
How does all of this affect Israel? The obvious point is that the democratic elections in Egypt have produced a government that will be non-democratic, Islamist, and anti-Israel to the core. To the extent that the Egyptian military can rein in these elements, Israel will benefit.
THIS DAY IN ISRAELI HISTORY:
On January 21, 1988, a three man Palestinian terrorist squad infiltrated Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Armed with assault rifles, rockets and explosives, they managed to penetrate 30 yards into Israeli territory before they were spotted and killed by an Israeli patrol south of Kibbutz Manara. The PLO claimed responsibility for the attempted attack.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.