Will removal of Egypt's spy chief leave Palestinians in a bind?
Some Palestinians are concerned that the dismissal of the head of the Egyptian intelligence will affect Egypt's ability to mediate their ongoing reconciliation process.
Palestinians are still wondering what effect last month's dismissal of the Egyptian intelligence chief will have on them.
Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Jan. 17 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had dismissed the director of the General Intelligence Directorate, Khaled Fawzy, with no explanation and tasked Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel to run the directorate until a new director is appointed.
The Egyptian media did not run the news of Fawzy’s dismissal, reporting only Sisi’s decision to appoint Kamel as acting director. But Egyptian parliamentarian Mustafa Bakri, who is close to Sisi, tweeted Jan. 19 that Fawzy was dismissed because his health is deteriorating from an unnamed disease.
As Palestinians watched this delicate Egyptian development, they feared a setback for the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, as Fawzy had been handling the matter and managed to bring both parties to Cairo to sign the reconciliation agreement Oct. 12.
