Khaled Abu Toameh: Egypt’s War on Terrorism Bears Fruit/Mohshin Habib:Diplomatic Immunity: License for Crime? Saudi Arabia at It Again

Egypt’s War on Terrorism Bears Fruit
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/September 23/15

Egyptian President Sisi’s war against the smuggling tunnels will undoubtedly weaken Hamas and other radical groups in the Gaza Strip. Sisi should be commended, rather than criticized, for his courageous actions against Islamist terrorists, both in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai.
Sisi’s actions will benefit not only Egyptians, but also many Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas and radical Islamist groups.
When the Egyptians destroy a Hamas tunnel, that is called “war on terrorism.” But when Israel destroys a tunnel, that is condemned as an “act of aggression.” This moral slithering is why it is important for the international community to stand behind Sisi’s relentless war on radical Islam.
Without such backing, Islamists will continue to pose a major threat not only to Israel, but to many Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas, Islamic State and Islamic Jihad.
The environment of the Gaza Strip is the last thing that Hamas cares about. Hamas did not think about damage to the environment or to agricultural fields when it used those fields, as well as populated areas, as launching pads for attacking Israel.
Egypt began this week flooding smuggling tunnels along their border with the Gaza Strip with water from the Mediterranean Sea — a move being condemned by Hamas and other Palestinian factions as a “disturbing nightmare.”
The Egyptian army’s move is another sign of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s determination to destroy the tunnels that were used to smuggle weapons, people and merchandise from Sinai to the Gaza Strip and the other way around.
This act is also a sign of Sisi’s resolve to pursue his military campaign against Islamist terror groups that are waging war against the Egyptian authorities in Sinai. The Egyptians are convinced that Hamas and other Palestinian groups have been providing aid to the terror groups in Sinai.
Since the beginning of the year, dozens of Egyptian soldiers and police officers have been killed in a spate of terror attacks launched by Islamist groups in Sinai.
Earlier this week, Egypt’s Interior Ministry announced that terrorists shot dead an Egyptian general in Sinai. In another similar shooting a few days earlier, a terror group killed General Khaled Kamel Osman.
The decision to pump water into the smuggling tunnels is seen as a severe blow not only to the terror groups in Sinai, but also to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions inside the Gaza Strip.
Seawater covers parts of the ground where Egypt has been pumping water into smuggling tunnels along the border with Gaza. (Image source: Al Jazeera video screenshot)
Judging from the reaction of the Palestinian groups, it is clear that they are in a state of hysteria as they see their tunnels collapsing one after the other.
In a statement published in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian groups, including Hamas, denounced the flooding of the tunnels as a “disturbing nightmare” for the Palestinians. The factions appealed to the Egyptian authorities to “stop this despicable crime against the Palestinian people and their environment.”
“The Palestinian people are surprised by the Egyptian move, which will tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip, destroy vast areas of agricultural land and harm those living near the border (with Egypt),” the statement said.
Initially, Hamas leaders did not take the reports about flooding the tunnels seriously. Some Hamas leaders, in fact, first thought that these were rumors designed to scare them and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.
But when Hamas leaders woke up on September 13 to discover that the Egyptians had begun pumping water into the smuggling tunnels, they could not believe what they were seeing.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri announced that his movement asked the Egyptians to stop flooding the tunnels with seawater. “We hope that the Egyptians will comply with our demand,” Abu Zuhri said. “This measure is completely unacceptable and poses a threat to many families living alongside the border.”
Sources in the Gaza Strip noted this week that the Egyptian move has thus far proven to be effective and successful. They said that since being flooded with water, several tunnels have collapsed.
It is worth noting that despite its outrage, Hamas has stopped short of issuing threats against Egypt in response to the flooding of the tunnels.
Hamas’s response would have been different had it been Israel that was flooding the tunnels with water. But Hamas knows very well that it would not be a good idea to mess with the Egyptian authorities and President Sisi.
During the past two years, the Egyptians have destroyed hundreds of smuggling tunnels along their border with the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, Hamas did not dare launch one terror attack against Egypt.
Hamas is now pretending that it is concerned about the damage to the environment that is caused by the flooding of the smuggling tunnels. But the truth is that the environment of the Gaza Strip is the last thing that Hamas cares about.
Hamas did not think about damage to the environment or to agricultural fields when its men fired thousands of rockets at Israel in the past few years. In fact, Hamas used these fields, as well as populated areas, as launching pads for attacking Israel.
Hamas is interested only in one thing: preserving its rule in the Gaza Strip. The tunnels that are now being destroyed by the Egyptians were used by Hamas to smuggle all types of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Hamas warlords are also believed to have earned millions of dollars from the smuggling industry during the past few years.
Sisi’s war against the smuggling tunnels will undoubtedly weaken Hamas and other radical groups in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian president should be commended, rather than criticized, for his courageous actions against Islamist terrorists, both in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai.
Sisi’s actions will benefit not only Egyptians, but also many Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas and radical Islamist groups. Israel also stands to benefit from Sisi’s war against Hamas. The destruction of the tunnels means fewer weapons used by Hamas to attack Israel.
However, Israel still has good reason to be worried about Hamas’s plans and intentions.
While Sisi is busy flooding the tunnels on the border with Egypt, Hamas continues to dig new ones on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
It is no secret that Hamas has also managed to rebuild many of the terror tunnels that were used to infiltrate gunmen into Israel during last year’s military confrontation between the two sides. Hamas is planning to use these tunnels in the future, to dispatch its men to kill as many Israelis as possible.
The Israelis have thus far been monitoring the situation very closely and have refrained from attacking the tunnels. That is because Israel is keen on maintaining the unofficial truce with Hamas that was reached in the aftermath of last year’s war, known as Operation Protective Edge.
There is not much that Israel can do at this stage other than hope that Sisi will continue with his measures to undermine Hamas. Any attempt by Israel to flood a Hamas tunnel will most likely spark an international outcry and bring condemnations from the United Nations. In addition, such a move on the part of Israel is likely to trigger a violent response from Hamas — one that could lead to another war.
When the Egyptians destroy a Hamas tunnel, that is called “war on terrorism.” But when Israel destroys a tunnel, that is condemned as an “act of aggression.” This moral slithering is why it is important for the international community to stand behind Sisi’s relentless war on radical Islam. Without such backing, the Islamists will continue to pose a major threat not only to Israel, but to many Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas, Islamic State and Islamic Jihad.

 http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6559/egypt-war-on-terrorism

Diplomatic Immunity: License for Crime? Saudi Arabia at It Again
Mohshin Habib/Gatestone Institute/September 23/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6500/diplomatic-immunity-saudi-arabia

“Saudi Arabia has always protected its diplomats, despite what one official termed a ‘disproportionately high’ number of cases involving Saudi officials in heinous crimes.” – The Hindu newspaper.
The Indian government is as embarrassed as its citizens are outraged by a crime committed by Saudi a diplomat, who will enjoy not only diplomatic immunity, but also blind support from his superiors.
Majed Hassan Ashoor, First Secretary at the Saudi Arabian embassy in New Delhi, has been accused of raping two Nepalese maids, a woman of 50 and her 25-year-old daughter. The women were rescued by the Indian police from diplomat’s apartment in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of India’s capital.
“There were days when seven to eight men—all from Saudi Arabia—would take turns in raping us,” the victims said.
“If we resisted, the diplomat and his family would threaten to kill us and dispose of our bodies in the sewer. We were made to do all the household chores from morning until late in the night, and then subjected to sexual assault at the end of the day. We were not given food. Sometimes we only survived on biscuits, bread and watery tea. We were never allowed to step out of the house.”
The victims, in a written complaint stated, “After we returned in May, he asked us to message him… he then raped us and forced us to have unnatural sex and oral sex. After that he offered us to his friends regularly.”
The women were in captivity for more than three months. Eventually they were rescued with the help of an NGO, Maiti Nepal India, which was informed about the crimes by another woman who had been employed as a domestic help at the diplomat’s residence, but who managed to run away after three days. The NGO then informed the Nepalese Embassy, which wrote to India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Gurgaon police. On September 7, a police team raided Ashoor’s residence and rescued the women.
The diplomat’s wife and others have also been accused of various offenses, but so far, no arrests have been made.
The victims underwent medical examinations at the Gurgaon General Hospital. Hospital sources reported that the younger of the two victims had developed an infection in her anus and pelvic area. Her vagina was found to be severely bruised and damaged. The results of the examinations, sources said, corroborated most of the claims made by the victims.
Indian authorities have asked the Saudi Ambassador in Delhi to cooperate in the ongoing police investigation. However, instead of cooperating, the Saudi Embassy has dismissed the charges by saying that they are “completely false.”
Riyadh has so far denied any wrongdoing by its diplomats. Reuters reports that the Saudi Embassy has accused Gurgaon Police of breaking international conventions by raiding a diplomatic property, and is pressing India to drop the case. According to a New York Times report of September 17, Ashoor has already left India.
Indian women protest near the Saudi Arabian embassy in New Delhi on September 10, 2015, following the rescue of two Nepalese women raped by a Saudi diplomat stationed in the city.
Human Rights Watch said, “We have seen similar crimes occurring in Saudi Arabia and the Saudis have not shown any great enthusiasm for prosecuting them.”
One of India’s most popular English newspapers, The Hindu, wrote in an editorial, “Saudi Arabia has always protected its diplomats, despite what one official termed a ‘disproportionately high’ number of cases involving Saudi officials in heinous crimes.”
It should be noted here that the Article 29 of the Vienna Convention states that “the person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent attack on his person, freedom or dignity.”
Article 30(1) states, “The private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same inviolability and protection as the premises of the mission.”
Article 31(1) states, “A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in the case of: a) A real action relating to private immovable property situated in the territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the sending State for the purposes of the mission, b) An action relating to succession in which the diplomatic agent is involved as executor, administrator, heir or legatee as a private person and not on behalf of the sending State, c) An action relating to any professional and commercial activity exercised by the diplomatic agent in the receiving State outside his official functions.”
India is now in an awkward situation. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest crude oil supplier. About three million Indians work in Saudi Arabia. In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is looking for much needed investment from Saudi Arabia, and Modi plans to visit Saudi Arabia later this year. On the other hand, a large number of Indians and neighboring Nepalese want to see the accused brought to justice, either by the Indian government or by Riyadh.
The Times of India wrote on September 13
“If the Saudis send the diplomat home, it would amount to an admission of guilt, and weaken the line they have taken that the first secretary is innocent and is being framed. India, for its part, could provide the Saudis with a face-saving device by expelling the diplomat. That would allow the Saudis to stick to their line that their man was innocent, but that might open up the possibility of a retaliatory expulsion of an Indian diplomat from Riyadh.
India does not want relations between the two countries to suffer, especially with the millions of Indian laborers in Saudi Arabia, now seemingly as effective hostages.
In 2011, a case in the U.K. involving two women held in conditions like ‘slavery’ by a Saudi diplomat in London caused an international uproar after details emerged of their severe ill-treatment.
Yet another case in 2013 involved two women held as ‘domestic slaves’ for months by the Saudi defense attaché and his wife in the United States. In both the cases, the diplomats were not prosecuted, thanks to diplomatic immunity.
Perhaps it is time to revoke the concept of diplomatic immunity; at every level internationally, it is all too often a license for crime.
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