Israel offers to help build Egypt-Gaza wall

Posted on By 3arabawy

Via the Daily News Egypt:

Israel has offered to assist Egypt in building a technologically advanced wall along its border with the Gaza strip, the Israeli press reported Monday.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited an Israeli defense source as saying that fears of another breach like the one in January, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into the Egyptian side of Rafah, prompted the Israeli offer.
The newspaper also reported that Egypt is reticent about the idea for fears of inflaming domestic criticism, but has agreed to discuss the issue following US pressure to prevent arms smuggling through tunnels beneath the border.
Israel is proposing a three-tiered wall with concrete walls, an electronic fence and tech-savvy system able to locate tunnels under the ground.
According to the paper, Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad and a senior Shin Bet (the Israeli Security Agency) official will travel to Cairo next week to discuss arms smuggling across the border with Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

Blogger remains detained without trial

Posted on By 3arabawy

Michaela Singer reports:

A student blogger has been detained for 15 days without trial after “turning himself in” to security.
Muhammad Rafat Bayoumi, mass communication student at Cairo University, was not at home when security raided his house around midnight on July 21.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Bayoumi told Daily News Egypt that security confiscated the student’s hard drive and took various political party pamphlets that the student had collected.
“Bayoumi was at the movies when security came to the house. They warned his father that if his son didn’t show up at State Security headquarters the following morning he would ‘experience the power of the police, and they would come back using force,’” said lawyer Sayid Abdel-Ghani.
According to a statement released by ‘The board for defense of Arab Students’ Rights’ security entered Bayoumi’s house to arrest him for alleged acts of public agitation and disturbing the peace, as well as calling for strikes.
“Security claimed he had called readers of his blog to launch public demonstrations to commemorate the July 23 revolution,” Waleed El-Masry, coordinator of The Committee for Arab Students’ Rights, told Daily News Egypt.
Bayoumi, author of personal blog ‘Al-Matabat,’ went to State Security headquarters the following day, where he was sent straight to Tora Prison.
Two days later he was presented to the public prosecution office, where he was given a 15-day detention.
On Aug. 4, after 15 days in prison, he was again presented to the public prosecution office, where his sentence was renewed for another 15 days.