Speculation over who was behind the Sinai bombings was rife, writes Aziza Sami Newspaper writers came up with almost every single possible explanation -- and its contradiction -- as to who might have been responsible for the Sinai bombings which, according to the national daily Al-Ahram on Monday, took the lives of 13 Egyptians, 10 Israelis and 11 people whose identities could not be verified, and injured 105. Analysts speculated that the perpetrators might be Egypt's militant groups such as Al-Jihad and Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya (though this was not given much credence by most publications), or an international network fuelled by Al-Qaeda or, finally, Israel's intelligence, the Mossad. Al-Gama'a Al- Islamiya has emphatically distanced itself from the attack while Israel's ultimate benefits accrued from the bombings was a prevalent refrain in several publications. On Monday the editorial of Al-Ahram asserted, "Egypt will not submit to petty terrorists!" The newspaper described the attacks as "more major and significant than any in recent years. Its perpetrators knew that Egyptians would fall. This is an assault on Egypt's territory which means that Egyptians, and not just another nationality (Israelis), were targeted. The attackers hit the tourist industry which is a source of livelihood for millions of Egyptians. The criminals wanted to undermine Egyptian-Palestinian relations with an operation implying that the perpetrators are Palestinians, which can never be. In all cases the Egyptian people will never be intimidated by such petty terrorists." Al-Ahram on Saturday had taken care to note that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had "asked his ministers not to criticise Egypt" following the explosions. The newspaper quoted the Middle East News Agency which reported that Sharon had told his cabinet, "Egypt has cooperated with us in rescue and salvage operations" and that he "sees no cause for criticism to be directed towards it". Galal Dowidar, the editor-in-chief of the national daily newspaper Al-Akhbar on Sunday questioned: "Who has an interest in the Taba crime?" He then asks: "Don't those who undertook this savage act know it has offered Israel every reason to intensify and perpetuate its bloody operations against the Palestinians? This crime will be solely in favour of Israel the aggressor and the forces harbouring enmity against Islam and the Arabs." The economic daily Al-Alam Al-Yom on Saturday quoted Minister of Tourism Ahmed El- Maghrabi as saying, "Egypt will not take any steps to restrict the number of Israeli tourists visiting Egypt.. since this will mean that such (terrorist) operations have succeeded." The minister, according to Al-Alam Al-Yom, asserted, "It is still too early to speak of any measures in this respect." The opposition weekly newspaper Al-Arabi issued by the Nasserist Party broke the record of contradictory prognoses on who is behind the bombings, if only by virtue of the number of sources interviewed. A report, "Days of remorse in Taba", quoted Emad Gad, an expert on Israeli affairs, as saying, "The explosion might have been executed by either Al-Qaeda or an Egyptian or Palestinian organisation in retaliation for the Gaza massacres which led to the death of 93 Palestinians." Another article gave a summary of eyewitness accounts to the bombings, concluding that "a new international Islamist organisation led by Rifaat Taha, an old Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya leader, is most probably responsible for the bombings." A third article asserted that "Israel is the primary suspect in the Taba bombings. Eyewitnesses gave evidence to the authorities that Israeli elements are behind the bombings and that high-level Israeli delegations briefly visited the region and scrutinised its hotels prior to the event." The article alleged that Israeli elements are behind the bombings since "Israeli rancour has intensified against Egypt with warnings issued from (Israeli) extremist groups against (tourists coming to Egypt). The whole situation was exacerbated by (Egypt's) security and administrative laxity in the area." Al-Arabi 's columnist Akram El-Qassas wrote in commentary: "Like other operations, this also might be attributed to an unknown culprit. Al- Qaeda seems, as always, to be the likely scapegoat. This is despite the fact that Osama Bin Laden and his televised warnings have not appeared for some time now. The theatre is thus prepared for yet more American intervention in the area and more Israeli terrorism." Al-Arabi interviewed Abboud Al-Zomor, the prominent Al-Jihad leader currently in jail following his conviction for conspiring to assassinate former President Anwar El-Sadat. Al-Zomor refers to "the famous initiative undertaken by Jihadist (militant Islamist) organisations in and out of Egypt in 1999 to stop all acts of violence against the country. All agree on this, including Ayman El-Zawahiri, the second in command of Al-Qaeda organisation." In an interesting departure from policy Al- Ahram on Sunday prominently published a manifesto sent to the newspaper by Egypt's Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya, responsible for the 1997 Luxor massacres. In the declaration, "The Taba bombings, a wrong step in the wrong place", Al-Gama'a asserts, "The Taba bombings lack both legal and religious foundations (shariaa) and sound political sense." The attacks, said the manifesto, even if undertaken in response to Israeli acts against Palestinians, "have created a number of victims who should not have been targeted, amongst whom are Muslims and others who must not in all cases be killed. The fact that there are Israelis amongst them does not mean they should be killed. There are many ways of responding to Sharon's crimes; shedding the blood of Muslims or others is not one of them. Choosing Taba as a theatre also means widening the conflict with Israel outside the occupied territories, a step bound to incite several states against the Palestinians." The declaration added that the bombings will "improve Sharon's criminal image, projecting him as a victim who is targeted inside and outside of Palestine". In conclusion, the manifesto states, "The bombings will minimise the positive Egyptian role which seeks, through negotiations with the Palestinian factions to translate their people's struggle into tangible results before they are subsumed by Sharon's expansionist policies." The banner of the weekly newspaper Watani issued by the Coptic community on Sunday proclaimed, "Evidence points to Al-Qaeda in the Sinai bombings". Watani cited experts who drew parallels between the Sinai bombings and those which took place in Bali and Mombassa in 2002, and Casablanca in 2003. Finally, in emotive yet studied style, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, editor-in-chief of the national weekly magazine Rose El-Youssef , strongly condemned the anonymous culprits. Their aim, he wrote, is "to hit Egypt, the beacon of civilisation and rationality in a region rife with frustrated individuals, failures and serpents". The culprits are, he asserts, "the lowest of the low, the most stupid whom humanity has begotten". Abdel-Moneim concludes, "Like (the terrorist attackers on Luxor in 1997) their aim is to snuff out our happiness, start fires once again, and abort the strategy of the (Egyptian) state which knows very well where it is going."
