By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
"CAIRO, Oct 14, 2010 (IPS) - Since June, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has witnessed an unusual flurry of local crises. The peninsula shares a border with both the Gaza Strip and Israel, and is inhabited mostly by the Bedouin tribe....
Tribal leaders have repeatedly demanded a halt to police violations against local residents, and the release of Bedouin prisoners detained without charge since the spate of bombings. Of the latter, there are still some 4,000 languishing in police custody, according to Bedouin spokesmen.
Bedouin activists also demand the economic development of the peninsula, which has been historically neglected by the central government, as well as more employment opportunities for the local population.
Following the attempted sabotage of the gas pipeline -- through which Egyptian natural gas flows to buyers in Israel -- the Interior Ministry vowed to release an unspecified number of Bedouin detainees....
Gabr believes that clear and present "threats to Egypt's strategic interests", such as commercial crossings and gas pipelines, ultimately prompted the government to offer the Bedouin concessions, including the subsequent release of more than 100 detained tribesmen.
"The Bedouin have learned to exploit the government's vulnerabilities," said Rabie. "For example, they'll stage protests on the border with Israel, block the commercial road to Al-Auja, or threaten the gas lines as a means of pressuring the government to address their grievances."
"What's more, Bedouin traditionally don't take kindly to being given orders," he added. "And police methods in Sinai tend to be violent and cruel."
Under the terms of the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the former is prohibited from deploying significant numbers of police or soldiers on its north-western frontier. Cairo is also keen to avoid any diplomatic or political escalations on its fraught border with Israel."
"CAIRO, Oct 14, 2010 (IPS) - Since June, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has witnessed an unusual flurry of local crises. The peninsula shares a border with both the Gaza Strip and Israel, and is inhabited mostly by the Bedouin tribe....
Tribal leaders have repeatedly demanded a halt to police violations against local residents, and the release of Bedouin prisoners detained without charge since the spate of bombings. Of the latter, there are still some 4,000 languishing in police custody, according to Bedouin spokesmen.
Bedouin activists also demand the economic development of the peninsula, which has been historically neglected by the central government, as well as more employment opportunities for the local population.
Following the attempted sabotage of the gas pipeline -- through which Egyptian natural gas flows to buyers in Israel -- the Interior Ministry vowed to release an unspecified number of Bedouin detainees....
Gabr believes that clear and present "threats to Egypt's strategic interests", such as commercial crossings and gas pipelines, ultimately prompted the government to offer the Bedouin concessions, including the subsequent release of more than 100 detained tribesmen.
"The Bedouin have learned to exploit the government's vulnerabilities," said Rabie. "For example, they'll stage protests on the border with Israel, block the commercial road to Al-Auja, or threaten the gas lines as a means of pressuring the government to address their grievances."
"What's more, Bedouin traditionally don't take kindly to being given orders," he added. "And police methods in Sinai tend to be violent and cruel."
Under the terms of the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the former is prohibited from deploying significant numbers of police or soldiers on its north-western frontier. Cairo is also keen to avoid any diplomatic or political escalations on its fraught border with Israel."
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