There are a lot of reactions whether from Cairo, Tel Aviv and New York as well following the arrest of Grapel.
First of all starting with Cairo ,the Egyptian press proved that it still lives in the 1960s with its disgraceful headlines in the front pages of major newspapers like Al Ahram and Al Akhbar especially Al Akhbar with their provoking headline : A big blow to the Israeli Mossad !! What blow and the man has not been convicted yet so we consider it as a blow. There is no doubt that our media , our press needs some time to heal.
The American embassy checked from his case as an American citizen and the consular officer has visited him today in his detention and he is in good health.According to Ilan Grapel’s Irene mother who spoke today to the media Grapel entered Egypt with an American passport. She also said that he came to Egypt on May 10th only and that he had not been to Tahrir square before during the revolution. His parents denied the allegations that he is working for the Israeli Mossad.
Moving to Tel Aviv , there is a huge a reaction starting from the Israeli ministry for foreign affairs that will check from the matter while the Mossad denied any relation with Grapel as expected. War criminal Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio he hoped the arrest was not an attempt to "put peace into total freeze." The friends of Grapel in Israel told Israel radio that he was a special guy and he was an Arabist !!
Azzam Azzam has also got an opinion about the case as an expert in Egyptian affairs and he is expecting that Grapel will be released soon. Azzam Azzam also believes that Israel has got no spies in Egypt.It is worth to mention that Azzam Azzam would not have been extradited and released if Israel did not arrest those group of students during the 2nd intifada in Gaza.
Back to the Ilan’s parents , they are saying that he was working for Saint Andrew’s refugee services , a NGO in Cairo that is connected with transferring refugees from Egypt. Ilan was volunteering during his studies at Emory university’s school of law.
Now I got two remarks regarding the statements of the Grapels :
According to some realistic national security experts and based on the facts that the American embassy will enter the arena Grapel could be deported to the States. Our famous former ambassador in Tel Aviv Mohamed Bassiony says that Grapel came to Egypt as a reporter last January.
This case will not affect the foreign journalists only but also international NGOs.
First of all starting with Cairo ,the Egyptian press proved that it still lives in the 1960s with its disgraceful headlines in the front pages of major newspapers like Al Ahram and Al Akhbar especially Al Akhbar with their provoking headline : A big blow to the Israeli Mossad !! What blow and the man has not been convicted yet so we consider it as a blow. There is no doubt that our media , our press needs some time to heal.
The American embassy checked from his case as an American citizen and the consular officer has visited him today in his detention and he is in good health.According to Ilan Grapel’s Irene mother who spoke today to the media Grapel entered Egypt with an American passport. She also said that he came to Egypt on May 10th only and that he had not been to Tahrir square before during the revolution. His parents denied the allegations that he is working for the Israeli Mossad.
Moving to Tel Aviv , there is a huge a reaction starting from the Israeli ministry for foreign affairs that will check from the matter while the Mossad denied any relation with Grapel as expected. War criminal Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio he hoped the arrest was not an attempt to "put peace into total freeze." The friends of Grapel in Israel told Israel radio that he was a special guy and he was an Arabist !!
Azzam Azzam has also got an opinion about the case as an expert in Egyptian affairs and he is expecting that Grapel will be released soon. Azzam Azzam also believes that Israel has got no spies in Egypt.It is worth to mention that Azzam Azzam would not have been extradited and released if Israel did not arrest those group of students during the 2nd intifada in Gaza.
Back to the Ilan’s parents , they are saying that he was working for Saint Andrew’s refugee services , a NGO in Cairo that is connected with transferring refugees from Egypt. Ilan was volunteering during his studies at Emory university’s school of law.
Now I got two remarks regarding the statements of the Grapels :
- They say that he did not come to Egypt before May 10th while the photos from him at Down town’s “Horreya Cafeteria” and at that Jewish synagogue show that he came to Cairo in Winter.
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| At Horreya Cafe and just look what most people were wearing |
- What is the relation between Saint Andrew’s refugee services and Al Azhar !? I do not get that preaching thing , it is another riddle.
- Did he come as a journalist or as law consultant for the refugees !?
According to some realistic national security experts and based on the facts that the American embassy will enter the arena Grapel could be deported to the States. Our famous former ambassador in Tel Aviv Mohamed Bassiony says that Grapel came to Egypt as a reporter last January.
This case will not affect the foreign journalists only but also international NGOs.