Global Geopolitical Series: Leaked tape suggests Egypt on board with Trump’s Jerusalem decision

According to local media reports, a leaked intelligence tape has revealed that Egypt is on board with the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The tape suggests that Egypt’s intelligence officials have instructed several Egyptian talk show hosts to downplay Donald Trump’s Jerusalem decision. In leaked phone calls, Captain Ashfar El Kholi can be heard urging three media professionals to persuade their viewers to accept the reality established by the Trump’s announcement. One of the professionals was well-known Egyptian actor and singer, Yousra, who heeded the advice.

Here are the interesting parts of the leaked conversation,

“I was just calling to tell you what our public stance is, so if you go on TV or speak in an interview, I am telling you what is the stance of Egypt’s national security apparatus and what it stands to benefit from in this matter of announcing Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, okay?.....We, like all our Arab brothers, are denouncing this matter…..After that, this thing will become a reality. Palestinians can’t resist and we don’t want to go to war. We have enough on our plate as you know….The point that is dangerous for us is the intifada issue…..An intifada would not serve Egypt’s national security interests because an intifada would revive the Islamists and Hamas. Hamas would be reborn once more…..At the end of the day, later on, Jerusalem won’t be so much different from Ramallah. What matters is ending the suffering of the Palestinian people…..Concessions are a must and if we reach a concession whereby Ramallah will be the capital of Palestine, to end the war and so no one else dies, then we would go for it.”

The above conversation of Mr. Kohli with Saeed Hassaseen, a TV talk show host and a member of the Egyptian Parliament once again confirmed the rumor that Egypt was on board with President Trump’s decision and was well informed of it in advance.