The media blamed Al-Qaeda for the bombings in Sinai but had harsh words for Egypt as well. Emad Gad visits the blame game As soon as the three terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula happened last Thursday evening -- bombings targeting the Hilton Taba and the Egyptian resorts of Nuweiba and Ras Shaitan -- the Israeli media began broadcasting statements by Israeli officials and experts blaming the attacks on Palestinian Islamist organisations, particularly Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Some also pointed the finger at Lebanon's Hizbullah. Ultimately, accusations began to focus on Al- Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian Ayman El-Zawahiri. Palestinian organisations were initially accused after the first bombing at the Hilton Hotel in Taba, located directly on the Israeli-Egyptian border. After two additional bombings at Nuweiba and Ras Shaitan, however, fingers began pointing at Al-Qaeda, given that three synchronised bombings at different locations requires experience and cadres far beyond the capabilities of Palestinian organisations. Thus, the Israeli media settled on Al-Qaeda as the prime suspect. The Israeli media began repeating this story before any information was available from Egypt where the attacks took place, and even before Egyptian security began collecting evidence and investigating. Still, the Israeli press continued to repeat its version of the events for the benefit of the international press and foreign correspondents. Before the rubble could be lifted and the number of dead and injured counted and identified, the Israeli media and officials began issuing victim counts showing that most of the victims were Israelis and that the bombings targeted primarily Jews. The attack was sold as Islamic terrorism against Jews, which turned out not to be the case at all: after the wreckage was cleared, it turned out that most of the victims were Egyptians. As the Egyptian security establishment spoke of the necessity of avoiding hasty conclusions about who exactly perpetrated the attacks, the Israeli media continued to repeat its own story. Israeli officials accused Arab and Islamic parties, and some even spoke of an Egyptian role in the bombings due to lax border security. Israeli officials also blamed Egypt for the delay in opening the borders to allow Israeli citizens to leave Egyptian territory for the Israeli city of Eilat, which the Egyptian security establishment believed might negatively affect their efforts to reach the perpetrators for it would allow the bombers to escape and melt into Israeli crowds, exploiting the chaos that might ensue if the borders were indiscriminately opened and accepted security procedures were ignored. In general, many Israeli officials focussed on the idea that what happened in the Sinai was a direct attack on Jews by Islamic organisations. For instance, Israeli Minister of Justice Tommy Lapid told Diana Bahor-Nir and Ilan Marciano with Yediot Aharonot's online Arabic version, "What happened in Sinai was a horrible thing in the history of terrorism against us." He added, "I don't think the Palestinians would want to create another point of conflict with [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak. I believe that these attacks are linked to the war being waged by Islam on Jews and against Arab leaders that cooperate with the Americans, because it greatly harmed Egypt. Bin Laden's deputy has a clear goal: that there not remain one foreigner on Egyptian soil." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did admit that the terrorist attacks took place on Egyptian territory and that Egypt had cooperated with Israel in managing the crisis, but he also stated that "the perpetrators wanted to harm Jewish citizens". Israeli Chief of General Staff Moshe Yaalon partly blamed Egypt for the attacks, saying that the bombings were the result of insufficient Egyptian efforts to combat weapons smuggling to the Palestinians. Saying that Egypt "allows" the passage of weapons, he stressed that the Sinai attacks were a result of this Egyptian tendency. The Israeli media spun a specific version of events in Sinai last Thursday: that what happened was a terrorist attack targeting Jewish Israelis that occurred because Egypt did not bear its responsibilities in policing the border. This story put Egypt once more in the centre of terrorist activity and proved the veracity of warnings issued by the Israeli security establishment a few weeks earlier, which cautioned Israelis against visiting Sinai due to possible terrorist attacks targeting Jews. Following the Sinai attacks, the Israeli security establishment said that the warning still stood. Their original information indicated that Palestinian elements from the Gaza Strip would kidnap Israeli citizens in Sinai to use them as bargaining chips to pressure Israel. Since this had not happened, Israel said, the warning was still in effect. All of these elements -- the Israeli media's treatment of the attacks; the warnings from the Israeli security establishment; Israel's sharp criticism, both implicit and explicit, of Egyptian responsibility for the attacks; and the Israeli security establishment's warnings that its advisory still stands -- show that there are several considerations involved in the Israeli stance with regard to the Sinai attacks. Clearly, Israel is attempting to exploit the attacks politically both on the Palestinian front and in its relationship with Egypt. To learn more about this issue, please visit the website of Arabs Against Discrimination ( www.aad-online.org ).
