The Muslim Brotherhood's official news outlet, Ikhwan Online, is reporting that “the remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party, the state security apparatus and their Zionist allies” are trying to destabilize Egypt by infiltrating an ongoing sit-in protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The website reported on 11 July that at the 8 July protest, protesters in Tahrir Square caught three “thugs” carrying knives and foreign currencies. According to the website, the three men had a tattoo of the Star of David, a Jewish symbol, which also appears on the Israeli flag. Tattoos are forbidden under Jewish law. "The remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party, the State Security apparatus and their Zionist allies still attempt to use thugs and spies to suppress the revolt of the Egyptian people that have damaged the interests of the beneficiaries of the ousted regime in Egypt, and tipped the balance in the Middle East,” the Brotherhood outlet said. While the Brotherhood lent its official support to the 8 July protest that started the sit-in, they decided not to participate in continuing protests. According to Ikhwan Online, bombs and tear gas marked with the Star of David were also allegedly found in possession of a satellite television reporter who was inciting protesters against the police and encouraging demonstrators to storm the Ministry of Interior. The website's investigation of these incidents raised questions about the supposed coincidences. Major General Hamdy Bakhit, a military expert, told Ikhwan Online that it is not unlikely there will be cooperation between the remnants of Mubarak's regime and Egypt's enemies abroad after revolutionaries raised questions about Egypt's controversial natural gas export deal with Israel. "The Western countries, including the United States and Israel, want to derail the revolution because Arab revolutions limit Western influence in the region, thwart attempts to control the Middle East and deplete its resources," Ikhwan Online quoted Major General Mohammed Abdul Lateef Tolba, a security expert, as saying. Tolba told the website that Tahrir Square, where demonstrations are entering their sixth day, is full of spies from different nationalities, led by the Zionists, the first enemy of the Arabs and Egyptians. In mid June, Egyptian security forces arrested Ilan Grapel, an Israeli-American law student, on charges of spying for Israel. Reports in state and independent media alike accused Grapel of sowing discord between the people and Egypt's military rulers and raised questions about his attendance at protests in Tahrir Square. Tolba told the Muslim Brotherhood's website that Zionists are responsible for the current high level of street crime in Egypt. They are spreading panic among Egyptians to make them feel that the revolution did not bring them security and safety, he said, according to Ikhwan Online. The security expert added that sit-ins are hotbeds for espionage. But Ikhwan Online's story also raised some cynicism about the accusations. Major General Adel Suleiman, another military expert, said, "The Zionist intelligence apparatus is not so stupid to send some thugs or spies to Tahrir with the Star of David tattooed on their bodies." However, Suleiman also told Ikhwan Online, remnants of Mubarak's regime, the dissolved State Security and those pushing Western agendas are manipulating the protest, even if foreign intelligence is not active there. Another report published on Ikhwan Online on 13 July raised questions about what it called "non-revolutionary features.” "Tahrir witnessed on [12 July] strange features that are not consistent with the spirit of the Egyptian revolution hailed by the world, according to observers," said the report on the Brotherhood's website. It said that observers criticized how the protesters dealt with the thugs who were arrested while trying to enter the square to intimidate protesters. Some protesters, according to Ikhwan online, stripped thugs of their clothes and tried to tie them to trees, prompting opposition from others in the square. The website also said that this was evident when dozens of young people surrounded Safwat Hegazy, a preacher known for his support of the Muslim Brotherhood, Tuesday evening, asking him to leave Tahrir as they thought he had come to ask them to evacuate the square.
