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Egypt’s Al-Sisi assigns chief of staff to run intelligence service

January 19, 2018 at 11:50 am

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi speaks at a conference, in Cairo, Egypt, on 17 January 2018 [Egyptian President Office/Apaimages]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has appointed his chief of staff and aide, General Abbas Kamel, as a temporary head for the country’s General Intelligence Service (GIS), state-run Middle East News Agency reported yesterday.

The decision was announced in a presidential decree by Al-Sisi but no details were given on why former intelligence head, General Khaled Fawzy – who has served this post since December 2014 – was dismissed.

Official local sources recently revealed that Fawzy has been suffering health problems and is currently under medical treatment. Other media outlets said that he was sacked as he “failed to resolve the Palestinian reconciliation issue”.

Read: Al-Sisi dismisses director of intelligence after leak scandal

Fawzy’s dismissal also came a few days after a report was published by the New York Times, alleging that it obtained recordings of phone calls where an alleged Egyptian intelligence officer is heard instructing talk show hosts to convince their audience to accept Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Al-Sisi, who has run the country since 2014, has not yet officially declared himself a candidate, but he is widely expected to stand and win.