Amine El-Mahdi: Sisi created death squads in Sinai to implement the deal of the century

The Egyptian intellectual Amine El-Mahdi has told Arabi21 that General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi formed death squads in apato implement the so-called “deal of the century”.

He added that Al-Sisi’s militias are not there to prevent an armed rebellion and that armed operations are carried out against the peaceful population, poor recruits and junior officers.

These armed operations justify the government’s forced displacement and genocide against the local population, said El-Mahdi.

At the beginning of this year, US President Donald Trump announced that Jerusalem was Israel’s undivided capital under his so-called “deal of the century” and half an hour later Al-Sisi announced that he supported the announcement.

Egyptian intellectual Amine El-Mahdi, 14 May 2020 [Arabi21]

In order to make room for these services, the Egyptian army has forcibly displaced and killed thousands of people from Sinai, committing war crimes including against children in the process and failing to offer sufficient compensation.

Arrests, extrajudicial killings and indiscriminate shootings have all been framed by the government as a just and necessary war on terror, which has been labelled by locals and human rights organisations as a war on civilians.

READ: Accusations of normalisation after Israel broadcasts Egypt TV series

The interview with El-Mahdi comes after a recent announcement from the Pentagon that the US was seeking to remove 400 Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) peace keeping forces from Sinai.

According to El-Mahdi the US has made this decision because the military, intelligence and security relationship between Egypt and Israel is strong and no longer needs to be observed.

He added that Israel opposed the US’ decision for fear that without them in the peninsula its army will be exposed.

Analysts have talked about this being the golden age of relations between Israel and Egypt, marked by a $15 billion natural gas deal and a joint air campaign in Sinai.

Both countries have imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip.

In the interview El-Mahdi said that Al-Sisi’s biggest crime is bringing the country legally, economically, culturally and socially under the army’s control and that the ultimate goal must be to permanently remove the army from politics.

He added that the regime is walking the Egyptian people into a dead end but regardless, civil and peaceful movements must be preserved because peaceful resistance and civil struggle are powerful weapons.

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