Egypt, Qatar and the US are eagerly awaiting Hamas’ response to the latest truce proposal, while the movement confirmed on Friday that it is studying “in a positive spirit” Egypt’s proposal.

It added that a delegation will visit Cairo soon to complete the ongoing discussions.

A member of the Hamas political bureau, Hossam Badran, explained that the movement’s response to the initiative has been delayed due to its desire for the terms of the agreement to be clear.

Badran explained that there are guarantor parties for the negotiation process, such as the Egyptian, Qatari or American mediators, and that Hamas is dealing with the Egyptian proposal positively and is studying its provisions in coordination with all Palestinian factions.

He also denied claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the destruction of 80 percent of the resistance forces, stressing that Israel’s political, security and military prestige has been broken.

There are ongoing steps to reach Palestinian national unity at the invitations of Moscow and Beijing, Badran said, noting that there is no special demand from Hamas or its leaders to obtain a quota in a Palestinian consensus government.

 

The three stages of Egypt’s proposal

Regarding the Egyptian proposal, Badran explained that work on it has been ongoing since three months and is being studied at the highest levels, and the resistance movements and factions participating in the field are being consulted about it.

Sources close to Hamas explained that the implementation of the Egyptian proposal will take place in three stages –  with the first stage lasting 40 days, the second 42 days, and the third 42 days.

These stages include the temporary cessation of military operations between the two sides, the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward and away from densely populated areas, and the return of the displaced to northern Gaza Strip on the seventh day of the agreement’s entry into force.

The proposal stipulates stopping Israeli military aviation and reconnaissance in the Gaza Strip for eight hours a day, and for 10 hours on the days for the release of detainees and prisoners.

Regarding the exchange of prisoners during the first stage, the Egyptian proposal stipulates that Hamas will release 33 detainees, including all living Israeli detainees with civilian and soldier women, children under the age of 19, the elderly over the age of 50, and the sick and wounded.

In return, Israel releases 20 Palestinian children and women for every Israeli detainee, based on lists provided by Hamas according to the longest held detainees, and 20 elderly prisoners, on the condition that the remainder of their sentences do not exceed 10 years.

The proposal also stipulates that Hamas will release all living Israeli female soldiers who were in active military service on October 7, with Israel releasing 40 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed on Wednesday 1/5/2024 a ceremony for inking two land hand-over minutes to implement two projects of establishing stations for generating electricity from wind energy in the west of Sohag, Upper Egypt, in presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Norwegian Ambassador to Egypt Hilde Klemetsdal.

Madbouly asserted that the government seeks increasing the use of new and renewable energy resources and encouraging investments in this promising field to contribute to reducing the use of fossil fuel and carbon emissions and achieving the sustainable development goals.

Both projects have a production capacity of eight gigawatts of wind energy in the west of Sohag, Shaker said.

The foreign investments of both projects reach nine billion dollar, Shaker said.

The two projects come within the framework of the strategy of the Egyptian energy sector which targets increasing the participation of the renewable energy sources to 42 percent by 2030, he said, adding the they will contribute to cutting 17 million tons of carbon emissions annually, providing 18 job opportunities and decreasing the use of traditional energy sources.

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Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly asserted the state’s utmost keenness on intensifying work to ease channels of communication between the citizen and the government. The state is doubling efforts to receive complaints from the citizens.

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Egypt’s tennis star Mayar Sherif qualified for the semifinal of the Catalonia Open WTA 125 in singles. Sherif’s advancement to this round came after the withdrawal of American tennis player Emma Navarro.

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Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar on Friday approved a medical insurance plan for the Sham al-Nessim and the Christian Resurrection Day holidays.

Abdel-Ghaffar ordered all sectors and health directorates to prepare to provide the utmost medical services during the holiday period.

A ministry statement said that the preventive plan aims to continue providing the necessary preventive services by ensuring the availability of botulism serum for any cases of food poisoning, alongside providing hepatitis vaccines.

It assures the availability of a safe stock of serums and vaccines in preventive rooms within health affairs directorates and health departments across the country.

The plan also includes providing preventive services at quarantine points in land, sea, and air ports for travelers and those arriving from abroad, alongside receiving samples of food and water and ensuring their suitability for human consumption.

It further involves raising the readiness for preventive emergency room at the ministry and all directorates to operate incoming reports 24 hours a day which can then be quickly intercepted when necessary.

The plan also seeks to coordinate with public and central hospitals and poison centers to deal with any early suspected cases of food poisoning or gastroenteritis immediately, forming rapid support teams at the concerned governorate, and quickly preparing reports to follow up on the progress of the medical insurance plan.

The minister ordered to intensify oversight on places where salted and smoked fish are manufactured, displayed, and sold to ensure their suitability, while ensuring its workers all hold valid health certificates, and that the facilities adhere to good health practices.

The ministry’s statement explained that the plan includes ensuring the readiness of all critical departments and auxiliary departments to work efficiently, increasing the number of shift doctors in critical departments during vacation days.

It also seeks to ensure the availability of blood bags and blood products in additional quantities, alongside the availability of medicines and emergency supplies.

The emergency plan included the presence of ambulances in crowded places and gatherings throughout the 24 hours, the ministry noted, approving the technical condition of all ambulances and their suitability to work, the suitability of all medical devices and the availability of all medical supplies.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Liverpool FC coach Jurgen Klopp assured that the spat between him and Egyptian international Mohamed Salah during the last match that the Reds played in the English Premier League against West Ham is ‘completely resolved’.

Klopp said during the press conference on Friday for the Tottenham match: “It is completely resolved. It is no problem. If we wouldn’t know each other for that long I don’t know how we would deal with it, but we know each other for that long and respect each other.”

“I think we have the right to deal with these things completely independent of any expectations from the outside. It is a non-story. In general everyone is in the best possible place.

“We win the games, we score loads of goals, then the situation would have probably not been exactly like that because Mo would not have been on the bench in the first place. It all depends on each other,” he added.

When asked whether Salah will start against Tottenham, Klopp joked: “There are only three games to go and [you expect me to] change my habits completely? You want the whole lineup?”

Klopp touched on the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League, saying: “It is an achievement. Does it feel to everybody like that? Maybe not [but] to me it does. That’s how the perspective can change during the season. The pressure is off now. That’s done. That would be really cool if we could play really, really good football again.”

Liverpool FC is preparing to face its counterpart, Tottenham, on Sunday, in the 36th round of the English Premier League, at Anfield.

The Reds currently occupy third place, with 75 points.

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The electricity cut-off schedule and load reduction plan, which are being implemented according to the previously specified schedules and dates, will resume after the end of the celebration of Easter and Holy Week.

The power cuts are usually scheduled for two hours at a time, and they affect different areas of the country.

The Egyptian government put its plan of load reductions in place on July 17, brought on by increased electricity consumption due to searing heatwaves across the nation.

The plan involved cutting off electricity throughout the country to reduce daily consumption, which had risen to up to 36 gigawatts.

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A British auction house has withdrawn from sale nearly 18 human skulls believed to be of Egyptian origin, following a wave of strong criticism from a British MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on African reparations.

She said that the sale of human remains for any purpose should be banned, describing this trade as a “gross violation of human dignity,” according to the British newspaper “The Guardian.”

The British auction house Semley Auctioneers had listed 18 skulls for sale through them, setting guide prices of between £200 and £300 each.

Some of skulls listed by Semley Auctioneers. Photograph: Semley Auctioneers

Origin and history of the skulls

The skulls were originally collected by the Victorian British soldier and archaeologist Augustus Henry, who founded the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford in 1884.

They were classified as coming from the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes and dated back to 1550-1292 BC. They were displayed as part of the Pitt Rivers collection.

Subsequent ownership and sale

Parts of the collection were later sold by Augustus’s grandson, George, who was arrested by the British government during World War II for his support of the fascist leader Oswald Mosley.

The United Kingdom harsh laws regarding the storage, handling, and display of human remains. However, individuals can own, purchase, and sell human body parts on condition that they were not obtained illegally, are not used for organ transplants, and are for decorative purposes only.

Some of skulls listed by Semley Auctioneers. Photograph: Semley Auctioneers

Criticism and withdrawal

The auction house’s decision to withdraw the skulls from sale came after Ribeiro-Addy criticized the sale in the British Parliament. She argued that the skulls were likely taken from Egypt during the colonial era and that their sale would be a “disrespectful” act that would “perpetuate the atrocities of colonialism.”

She added, “We cannot allow profit to be made from the exploits of those who often hoped to find evidence for their racist ideology. It is imperative that we take decisive action to end such practices and ensure that the remains of those who were stolen from their homelands are respectfully repatriated,” according to The Guardian.

The auction house initially defended its decision to sell the skulls, arguing that they were legally acquired and that they have historical value. However, it eventually decided to withdraw the skulls from sale in light of the public outcry.

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Air Cairo, a subsidiary of the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation and its economic arm, has announced the addition of its 24th Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet, bringing the total number of its aircraft to 33, including Airbus, E190, and ATR models.

This expansion comes as part of the development efforts to stimulate inbound air and tourism traffic to and from Egypt, in light of the noticeable increase in the number of passengers arriving from various countries around the world.

Air Cairo had confirmed that on the occasion of the start of the summer season, a number of new air routes will be operated to some international destinations linking Egyptian tourist cities with some European cities.

New routes

• Sharm El Sheikh – Venice (Italy): One flight per week
• Cairo – Antalya (Turkey): Two flights per week starting from June 1st
• Cairo – Sabiha Gökçen Airport (Istanbul): Two flights per week
• Cairo – Yerevan (Armenia): One flight per week
• Mersa Matrouh – Slovakia: Two flights per week

Expanded network

With the addition of these new routes, the total number of destinations will reach 60 domestic and international points, operating more than 400 flights per week.

This expansion supports the volume of inbound international tourism traffic to Egyptian tourist attractions and meets the needs and desires of its customers to travel to Egypt as a preferred tourist destination for visitors from all over the world.

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The Central Bank of Egypt has announced that all banks operating in Egypt will be closed on the occasion of Labor Day and Sham al-Nessim, starting from Sunday, May 5 until Monday, May 6.

In a press release, the Central Bank of Egypt added that banking services will resume on Tuesday morning, May 7.

 

A long weekend

Egyptians can look forward to another long weekend after the six-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, as a four-day extended break begins today, Thursday.

The Egyptian government has decided to grant public sector employees paid time off on May 5-6 to celebrate Labor Day and Sham al-Nessim.

The Ministry of Labor has also made the same decision for the private sector.

This holiday falls after the two-day weekend (Friday and Saturday), bringing the total length of the break to four days.

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Egyptians can look forward to another long weekend after the six-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, as a four-day extended break begins today, Thursday.

The Egyptian government has decided to grant public sector employees paid time off on May 5-6 to celebrate Labor Day and Sham al-Nessim.

The Ministry of Labor has also made the same decision for the private sector.

This holiday falls after the two-day weekend (Friday and Saturday), bringing the total length of the break to four days.

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The Egyptian Cabinet has approved the authorization of the Minister of Finance to issue non-circulating commemorative pure silver coins in denominations of LE20-50, featuring a design commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first circulating national currency minted by the Treasury and Minting Authority.

They are not legal tender and are intended for collectors only.   The Egyptian Cabinet also approved the minting of new circulating coins in denominations of one Egyptian pound and half an Egyptian pound. The minting will be carried out by the Public Treasury and Minting Authority in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt, which will approve the issuance of these coins.

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Egyptian MP Amal Salama, a member of the Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives, has called for the “temporary” suspension of Uber and similar companies in Egypt until they comply with the necessary operating procedures outlined in the Prime Minister’s 2019 decision.

Salama’s call comes after a series of crimes involving Uber drivers, including attempted assault, kidnapping, and indecent assault, RT Arabic reported.

The most recent case involved a German tourist named Christine Mikhail May Hoover, who accused an Uber driver of attempting to kidnap and assault her.

The driver was sentenced to three years in prison by the Criminal Court in late April.

Salama’s request also follows after the death of Habiba al-Shamaa, who died after jumping out of the Uber car to escape her driver’s harassment.

The driver was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted kidnapping, forging documents to work for the company, drug use, and driving under the influence.

 

‘No longer safe’

The MP explained that she “Received the papers of the new case from Mohamed Salah al-Leebody, a cassation lawyer, representing the German tourist complainant in case No. 26958/2023, in which she accused an Uber driver.”

“The recurrence of such crimes negatively affects inbound tourism to Egypt, in addition to threatening security and social peace, especially since transportation that relies on smart applications has become a necessity and cannot be dispensed with in the requirements of daily life,” the MP explained.

She said that these repeated crimes “Confirm that these means of transportation are no longer safe in the absence of supervision and the companies’ failure to comply with the necessary controls and procedures for operation, as these companies allow the employment of those with criminal records and drug users.”

She added that these companies must carefully select drivers based on stricter protocols, which include reviewing their criminal record and periodic drug testing.

The MP further suggested that “Cars operating in this field put up explanatory signs to distinguish them from other cars on the street, with the installation of surveillance cameras inside to record trips, informing the passenger that the trip is filmed, the installation of a GPS tracking device inside all cars, where the cameras and tracking devices are connected to the competent devices in the ministries of transport and interior to monitor what happens completely during the trips, which may save us from facing such incidents.”

 

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Egypt condemned on Wednesday 1/5/2024 the attack by Israeli settlers on two Jordanian aid convoys to the Gaza Strip carrying food and basic aid.

Spokesperson at Egyptian foreign ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid told MENA those behind such attacks were to be tried for the violations.

Abu Zeid said Israel as occupying power bears the responsibility of providing the necessary protection for humanitarian aid convoys, in accordance with the provisions of international law, as well as ensuring the arrival of urgent humanitarian aid to various regions.

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The Cabinet started its weekly meeting on 1/5/2024 under Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) to discuss a number of political, economic and social files, along with the latest developments on the global arena.

During the meeting, the Cabinet is set to discuss a number of topics, including the premier’s participation on behalf of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the World Economic Forum which convened in Saudi Arabia as well as his meeting with the Belarussian premier in Egypt.

The cabinet will discuss the convocation of the Egyptian-Belarussian business forum.

The cabinet will also follow up of the implementation of initiatives to reduce commodity prices and the availability of food commodities in addition to implementing decisions to control markets.

The meeting is also set to tackle important laws and ministerial decisions that aim to achieve progress at all levels, realize economic and social stability, encourage investments, issue decisions to support investment, and follow up on the completion of work on various national projects in all governorates, including the projects of the presidential initiative “Decent Life” to develop villages and the Egyptian countryside.

The Cabinet will also probe measures adopted in line with directives of President Abel Fattah al-Sisi, including following up on the implementation of the decisions of the Supreme Council for Investment, the files of investment, industry, export, agriculture, monitoring markets, making industrial lands available to investors, the social security umbrella, the tax file and development files in the various sectors of the State, including the health, sports, education and transportation domains, as well as offering support to low-income brackets and providing the needs of citizens in general.

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The cabinet under Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly approved on Wednesday1/5/2024 a number of draft presidential decrees introducing amendments to several agreements with the US and the European Union.

Among those, Madbouly approved the first amendment to a grant agreement on a climate change initiative signed between the US and Egypt.

The new amendment will add 5.5 million dollars to the agreement, bringing the total US contribution to 20.5 million dollars.

The agreement aims at boosting the Egyptian government’s capabilities in mitigating economic, social and environmental effects of climate change.

The cabinet also approved a draft presidential decree introducing a fourth amendment to another grant agreement with the US that aims at enhancing Egypt’s comprehensive economic governance.

Under the amendment, an additional sum of 13.5 million dollars will be added to the agreement, to bring its total value to 109.961 million dollars.

Also, the cabinet approved a draft presidential decree amending an agreement financed by the EU and the European Investment Bank to expand and develop a wastewater treatment plant in Alexandria.

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The cabinet media center dismissed as baseless media reports claiming striking a deal on selling Gabal al-Zeit wind plant to a foreign investor at a value below its construction cost.

In a statement on Wednesday 1/5/2024, the center said it contacted the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development which denied the news.

The ministry said the idea of selling the plant was not on the table, adding that the state held a tender for businessmen to invest in the plant under a 25-year usufruct right.

The center called on social media users to verify the authenticity of the news circulated to avoid confusing public opinion.

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The lawyer for Mohamed Adel, murderer of Mansoura University student Naira Ashraf, has been sentenced to three years in prison over assaulting both a media presenter and citizen.

Ashraf al-Gharib, the father of Naira Ashraf, commented on the news on Facebook, writing: “Finally, Ahmed Hamdy, the lawyer of the butcher Mohamed Adel, has been arrested to serve his sentence of three years in prison.”

Authorities arrested Hamdy after the Tanta Criminal Court sentenced him to three years in prison and police surveillance following his assault of both media host Mohamed al-Ghazary, the presenter of the Al-Salon program on Al-Hadath Today Channel, and another citizen on al-Bahr Street in Tanta.

The Tanta Criminal Court, headed by Counselor Nabil Mohamed Rabie, issued the sentence during its March 7 session.

The Second Tanta Deputy Prosecutor, Hesham al-Naggar, ordered the arrest after the charges of assault were proven in a reported submitted by al-Ghazary and from a citizen who accused the lawyer of injuring him to the point of permanent disability.

The case was numbered #20937 for 2022 in Tanta Second Crimes and registered under #3115 in Crimes of West Tanta General.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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