Egypt's coup leaders employ Israeli company to secure Suez Canal

A report by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights has revealed that an Israeli company, Seagull Maritime Security, provides maritime security services for cruises and cargo ships passing through the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities have granted the company a license to work in the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and in Arab and African ports including Jordan, UAE and Oman.

According to the report the company is one of the few whose guards are allowed to disembark fully armed on the Egyptian Tiran Island.

The company’s official site does not reveal its Israeli identity however several other sites connected to the company reveal the background of the company’s directors and managers as IDF veterans from elite units. The company is a member of the Israeli Association of Private Security Companies. The company was founded by its CEO, Kfir Magen who served as an officer in the Israeli navy, in 2008. According to related sites the company’s directors were prominent leaders of the Israeli army, including Eliezer Marom who served as a navy commander between 2007 until 2011. Marom planned the attack against the Freedom Flotilla in 2010 and Operation Cast Lead in 2008.

The company’s advisory board chairman, Ami Ayalon, served as commander in chief of the navy in 1992 and participated in an attack against the Suez in 1969 which claimed the lives of 80 Egyptian soldiers. Ayalon who served as head of the Shin Bet in 1996 now works within the company.

According to the report several Israeli veterans work for the same company, including Jeremy Weiss who served as a senior commander in the Israeli Special Forces, Yuval Brenner who served as an officer in the Israeli elite scouts unit and Ron Ben- Shimon.