CAIRO: The current situation in North Sinai constitutes a threat to national security along the border with Israel, warned the defense and national security committee of the People s Assembly. At the end of a three-day visit to the area, the committee said that tunnel smuggling across the border and widespread possession of weapons in North Sinai amounted to an explosive situation. Head of the North Sinai branch of the Tagammu party Ashraf El-Hefny said, It is incorrect to generalize about the people of Sinai. "There are some who break the law and have thrived with police help, but the people of Sinai have disowned them publicly. The people living in huts and those trying to tend land have nothing to do with all of this. The committee members also pointed out the paucity of resources available to security forces in the area, whether in manpower or other means. The committee held a general meeting with representatives of the Bedouins in Sinai and other groups, and admitted that there was a chasm between the residents of the area and security forces. El-Hefny and his colleagues were not permitted entry to the venue at first, but were eventually allowed in at the behest of Al-Osboa editor Moustafa Bakry. Sinai has recently been the site of trouble between Bedouins and security forces, as clashes two weeks ago resulted in the death of four Bedouins. Residents of Sinai have a plethora of complaints against government authorities in the area, ranging from police crackdowns to land claims. We want citizenship and the government will not give it to us, then they accuse us of rejecting it, El-Hefny said. They demand of us the duties of the citizen without giving us any of the rights of the citizen, he added. What is the difference between us and the Palestinians across the border? They cannot own land and neither can we. And what about the cases where police officers have shot someone and not been held accountable? he asked. A spat ensued between El-Hefny and North Sinai Governor Mohammed Abdel-Fadel Shoosha at the committee s conference after he demanded an apology from the senior official for recent claims that the Bedouin were in cahoots with Israel. How can the government accuse us of disloyalty when they are exporting gas to Israel despite an administrative court order to cease? They are even appealing the verdict, it is the government that is unpatriotic, El-Hefny said.
