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Why does Egypt hate us?
By Gilad Sharon

Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, Egypt got all of Sinai and Israel is not threatening Egypt. What is the reason, then, for all the hatred and enmity, the arms smuggling and all the other bitterness Egypt is feeding us?

Let us suppose that weapons and ammunition were regularly being smuggled from the city of Eilat into Egypt, and used there in terror actions. Would anyone believe that Israel was not capable of dealing with the problem? Is what we are seeing haplessness and impotence on Egypt's part - or is it vile behavior and an intentional effort to stoke terror? Even though the first elements do exist in Egypt, in this case what we are seeing is intentional.

Such smuggling, or should we say weapons shipments, cannot occur without the knowledge and encouragement of Egyptian intelligence. Much testimony has been gathered that states that at the time of the recent explosion of tunnels beneath the Philadelphi Route, reverberations were heard on the Egyptian side, close to security forces' bases.
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The hatred for Israel in Egypt is not limited to the masses. The lawyer of Israeli Azzam Azzam, a Druze man accused a decade ago of spying for Israel, has been boycotted by the Egyptian Bar Association, which purports to be an enlightened organization that represents knowledge and progress. But lo and behold, its position is that it was forbidden even to represent the Israeli. In Israel, every murderer - even the most despicable - has legal representation. But within the circles of Egypt's intelligentsia, it is prohibited to represent an Israeli.

The Egyptian press and the anti-Semitic cartoons published in it, as well as the curricula in schools, also reflect hatred. In Israel, this is received with forgiveness and delicacy; they are so sensitive, the Egyptians. We wouldn't want to insult them.

Egypt allows despicable terrorists like Hamas' Khaled Meshal to move about in its territory - terrorists whose arrest Israel would demand of any country, and indeed any properly run country would indeed arrest them. But in dictatorships like Egypt or Syria, he is allowed to move around freely. And we don't even protest this.

What feeds this hatred? Perhaps there is no acceptance by Egyptians of our right to live here in security. Otherwise, it is hard to explain why they are always the most hostile toward Israel in the Arab League and at the United Nations, and in the pressure they apply to Muslim countries not to establish ties with Israel. It is hard to explain Egypt's extensive military acquisitions, a country without enemies and with grave domestic problems. Why does it need an army like that? And why does that army carry out training maneuvers based on hostile scenarios vis-a-vis Israel? Why do Egyptians make it difficult to evacuate Israelis who are injured in Sinai in terror attacks or accidents?

This attitude does not come from identification with the Palestinians because such things were evident even in 2000, when in Israel there were people who were ready to give the Palestinians everything and they simply were not prepared to take it. Peace is a good thing, and certainly it is preferable to the alternative, but let us admit that apart from the smuggling of weapons, drugs and prostitutes, we have not received anything from Egypt.

Twice Egypt lost Sinai to Israel - once for a short while and once for a longer period. This was because of Egyptian aggression, and the support and encouragement the country gave the Palestinians. Now the Egyptians are sending materiel in, which is the fuel for the terror that is spilling our blood. Will they never learn?

Even if people read these remarks in Egypt, their intention will be misunderstood: Instead of Egyptians saying to themselves, maybe we will stop supporting harm to innocent people - they will take them as an insult. Too bad. Because that isn't the intention.

The author is a farmer and businessman, and a son of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
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  1.   The "cold" peace takes its toll, but there is hope.... 11:42  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/05/07
  2.   Why Egypt Hate the Aparteid? 12:05  |  Sharif Hafez 18/05/07
  3.   TO Gilad Sharon 12:09  |  Nicole 18/05/07
  4.   Egypt and Turkey are silent battle grounds 12:09  |  ScotGuy 18/05/07
  5.   mubarak difficult choice 12:09  |  emil 18/05/07
  6.   Guess Who`s Coming To Dinner 12:14  |  NotAmused 18/05/07
  7.   Swiss and his reasearch 12:19  |  Watcher 18/05/07
  8.   Because your government & zionist elite makes it so easy? 12:20  |  John 18/05/07
  9.   oh the oor thing!!! 12:21  |  again! 18/05/07
  10.   Reading the TalkBacks shows,.. 12:22  |  Sharif Hafez 18/05/07
  11.   Don`t give Gilad a forum 12:27  |  David Howard 18/05/07
  12.   Is Gilad Sharon an idiot? 12:27  |  Steven 18/05/07
  13.   #2 Sharif Hafez - Thank You 12:32  |  Bill 18/05/07
  14.   Never Forget 12:32  |  Chinto 18/05/07
  15.   The lies of Sharif Hafez. #2 12:33  |  Ken Jurist 18/05/07
  16.   WITH SADAT, NOT EGYPT 12:35  |  indrajaya 18/05/07
  17.   BTW anti-zionism is the way to live 12:40  |  Chinto 18/05/07
  18.   Can it be that Mr. Sharon is so poorly informed? 12:42  |  Thomas Jackson 18/05/07
  19.   Gilad Sharon Is Responsible For This Situation 12:43  |  Ben Israel 18/05/07
  20.   WHY EGYPT HATES US 12:44  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 18/05/07
  21.   Sharif Hafez #2 12:45  |  Saimon 18/05/07
  22.   2 Egypt Hated Israel in 1948 before the so-called occupation 12:50  |  Steven 18/05/07
  23.   Gilad Sharon 12:58  |  rich 18/05/07
  24.   indrajaya #8 13:00  |  Saimon 18/05/07
  25.   Gilad Is Responsible For This Situation 13:02  |  Ben Israel 18/05/07
  26.   TO INDIRAYA 13:09  |  Nicole 18/05/07
  27.   Does Mr. Sharon really not know? DUH 13:12  |  spyguy 18/05/07
  28.   # 18, SAIMON 13:15  |  indrajaya 18/05/07
  29.   Why Egypt hates Israel 13:16  |  christa 18/05/07
  30.   Are you KIDDING? 13:28  |  John Coady 18/05/07
  31.   Gilad, you fail to make your point. 13:35  |  M. Franks-Lhermann 18/05/07
  32.   To Cipora Julianna Kohn #20, sounds about right 13:38  |  Hal 18/05/07
  33.   # 7 Watcher 13:42  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/05/07
  34.   Egypt does hate you because of what you do the Palestinians 13:55  |  Wael Hendawi 18/05/07
  35.   Everything 14:23  |  Dilip Nirody 18/05/07
  36.   When I told Egyptians I was Israeli... 14:33  |  Yered Shmuel 18/05/07
  37.   You have got to be kidding 14:35  |  H50 18/05/07
  38.   WHY EGYPTIANS HATE US 14:36  |  Goz 18/05/07
  39.   Why Egypt hates Israel 14:39  |  Steve 18/05/07
  40.   Hating Israel 14:40  |  Ahmose The Egyptian 18/05/07
  41.   The Elephant in the room 14:42  |  Inigo Montoya 18/05/07
  42.   Elephant in the room: culture 2 14:46  |  Inigo Montoya 18/05/07
  43.   Who cares? 14:58  |  TamTam 18/05/07
  44.   Excellent treatise 15:00  |  Brod 18/05/07
  45.   Assirians are the answer 15:07  |  Me 18/05/07
  46.   who is gilad sharon? why does haaretz give him the time of day 15:08  |  bk 18/05/07
  47.   WHY?FACE THE TRUTH!! 15:33  |  Ian 18/05/07
  48.   3 BLOODY NOSES 1956 1967 1973 WHY A MYSTERY 15:34  |  paul harris 18/05/07
  49.   # 2 Sharif Hafez........ Righteous Egypt 15:46  |  Ibraheem 18/05/07
  50.   # 33 Hate leads to war, where else can it go? 15:47  |  Hello 18/05/07
  51.   MAYBE SHARON WANTS TO REPENT FOR ALL THE BLUNDERS OF HIS FATHER? 15:50  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 18/05/07
  52.   Egypt`s hatred of Israel 15:53  |  Gordon 18/05/07
  53.   Two-faced Egyptians - Hafez#2 15:57  |  William 18/05/07
  54.   # 34 Ahmose - You are so right!! What "haters" don`t realize is 15:59  |  Lover 18/05/07
  55.   To appease the masses? 16:07  |  Nick Lang 18/05/07
  56.   Had we kept the Sinai, Egypt might not love us but... 16:12  |  Chaim 18/05/07
  57.   His father`s advisor, Brrrr 16:13  |  Tosefta 18/05/07
  58.   Egypt 16:31  |  Abu Yusuf 18/05/07
  59.   Emil, you are right. Mubarak is no longer... 16:31  |  Kar 18/05/07
  60.   The big question is why your father gave away phidelphi to Egypt 16:38  |  Norman 18/05/07
  61.   #20 egypt and hate 16:45  |  SP 18/05/07
  62.   Chinto, nobody spoke of `Palestinians` in the 1930s 16:47  |  Jake 18/05/07
  63.   Missing the point... 16:56  |  ARTH 18/05/07
  64.   Here is why we hate Israel 16:57  |  Wise Man 18/05/07
  65.   Gee, do ya think it might have to do with Islam? 16:58  |  Pilly 18/05/07
  66.   Answer to #12 16:59  |  ARTH 18/05/07
  67.   Same reason all Arab nations hate Israel 17:01  |  Chick Corea 18/05/07
  68.   Egypt is jealous and controlled 17:03  |  David 18/05/07
  69.   You`ve never asked yourself... 17:09  |  RFE 18/05/07
  70.   egypt can`t accept... 17:11  |  maria 18/05/07
  71.   Gilad Sharon moralizing 17:13  |  Amoz 18/05/07
  72.   Because we do not stand up for our rights