In the old days, when the Israeli military
bombed and shelled Palestinians and sought to destroy their society, Hosni
Mubarak used a well-worn formula, fully abetting Israeli actions while uttering
pro-Palestine platitudes. Occasionally, when huge protests rocked the streets,
he green-lighted theatrical gestures such as his wife
heading a relief convoy to Gaza in 2002, and his son fronting a delegation
to Beirut when Israel bombed Lebanon in 2006.
Today, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has not only steered
clear of a single expression of token solidarity with Palestinians. He and his
media creatures have actually ventriloquized Israeli talking points: Hamas is responsible for the staggering
civilian death toll; Hamas is a terrorist
organization; Hamas ought to be tried for war crimes.
One of Sisi’s shills even instigated
a diplomatic crisis with Morocco when she attacked King Mohammed VI for
allowing Islamists to form the government, prompting an official apology by the
Egyptian ambassador to Morocco.
What accounts for this baffling state of
affairs? Mubarak’s and Sisi’s are both dictatorial regimes, and Sisi is seen as
the logical heir to Mubarak (albeit rudely interrupted by the evanescent
Egyptian revolution). But why is Sisi going out of his way to advertise his
identity of interest with Israel? Surely it’s better for him to be circumspect
and keep up appearances?