CAIRO: When news of an explosion rocking Egypt's Sinai natural gas pipeline reached Egyptian activists, the mood was more than positive, almost congratulatory for the masked gunmen who blew up part of the pipeline delivering gas to Israel, Jordan and Lebanon. “Congratulations to our people,” wrote one activist on Twitter. That appeared to be the sentiment early Tuesday morning as news of the 4th attack on the pipeline was being reported. Egyptians have long demanded the interim government in Cairo end its natural gas agreement with Israel, which is below international market price levels. The growing antagonism against the deal is not new to Egypt and had been part of the anger directed at the former government of Hosni Mubarak – who was ousted on February 11 following an 18-day uprising. On early Tuesday morning, Egypt reported that there was an explosion along the country's Sinai natural gas pipeline near the northern Sinai town of al-Arish. t is unclear what the extent of the damage is, but comes less than 48 hours after Egyptian authorities reported they would have all repairs to damage on the pipeline from an earlier explosion completed this week. The pipeline was damaged on July 4 in an explosion in the Bir Abd region at Nagah in the northern Sinai Peninsula. According to officials, a group of men in a small truck forced the guards to leave the station at gunpoint before planting an explosive device. That explosion was the third of its kind this year, following attacks on February 5 near the Sinai the Arish compression station and April 27 near the village of el-Sabil, which cut off the flow of natural gas for weeks. In March, an attempted explosion near el-Sabil failed when the device did not detonate. For Egyptians, it is part of the ongoing battle to take back their country, and when the news reached the ongoing protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, cheers erupted. The widespread support for the attack, which no injuries were reported, is part of the anger directed at the current government, which the protesters believe need to do more to ensure Egypt's rights locally and internationally. “Praise to the attackers,” wrote one Twitter activist, while another, in response to Israeli-based commentators saying their electricity costs will rise dramatically as a result, said that “this is what happens.” BM
