Topping news headlines Thursday were statements by the Egypt Minister of Housing about a new housing project and statements by security officials that Generals may be dismissed in light of the open sit-in by the Ministry of Interior. Youm7 Egyptian General Intelligence has created a plan to complete a prisoner exchange brokered with Israeli officials to trade Ilan Grapel, an American accused of espionage for Israel, for 25 Egyptian prisoners. Intelligence will cooperate with security services in the governorate of South Sinai to secure the deal. Security patrols are expected to deploy on roads leading into the Red Sea port city of Taba after an Egyptian security delegation arrives to oversee the exchange. A security source said that the deal aimed to trade the greatest number of Egyptian prisoners. The initial list was composed of 81 prisoners, but was eventually reduced to 25. It includes three Bedouin children that were captured by Israeli authorities recently. Al-Ahram A military official denied the existence of any relationship between the military and the "Egypt Above All" coalition that calls for the nomination of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to the presidency. The source added that the armed forces announced its adherence to a timetable for parliamentary and presidential elections to transfer power to an elected civilian authority, and that they had nothing to do with this campaign. Al-Akhbar Salah al-Adly, the editor of a socialist newspaper and spokesman for the Egyptian Communist Party, said that the communists will enter elections and will not allow the forces of political Islam to "steal the revolution.” Adly said that he considers the cabinet of Prime Minister Dr. Essam Sharaf to be a "failure.” He said it should leave and a new government agreed upon by the forces of revolution should be chosen. He also warned that the coming elections will be a “bloodbath.” Fathi el-Baradei, Minister of Housing, said that it is the right of every citizen to knock on his door and ask for housing. He said that some families have sent in more than 20 applications for an apartment, pointing out that the ministry is now "filtering" the requests. The minister said that studies saying that the state has 2 million vacant apartments are completely untrue. He added that the ministry will need 3 trillion EGP (U.S. $503 billion) over the next 40 years, pointing out that the Ministry of Housing is not a trader or investor, and does not aim for profit. Al-Shorouq A security source said the instigators of the policemen's sit-in include former heads of the police and those that were forced into retirement. The source said that they have been inciting police officers for more than 4 months, adding that protests in most Security Directorates were thwarted by security managers. Al-Gomhorreya Fathi el-Baradei, Minister of Housing, said that the Ministry is currently working on a project to accommodate 10 million people in 5 years, creating 10 million jobs, pointing out that half of the new areas in cities are yet to be used. Baradei said that the ministry will be able to house 230 million citizens in a quarter of the Area of Egypt. He says the ministry needs 2.4 billion pounds (U.S. $402.7 million) to finish sanitation and drinking water projects. He noted that the ministry inherited 160,000 apartments from the former administration, which they are trying to complete. He said that renewable energy and the desalination of water will be the starting point for a better future.
