CAIRO -

The decision to transfer the affiliation of the National Authority for the Development of Sinai from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Defense sparked controversy on social media in Egypt, especially since the decision was issued by the Minister of Defense, which some saw as an illegal decision that bypasses the Prime Minister. What is the truth of that?

In what context was the decision made?

The Official Gazette published the decision of the Minister of Defense and Military Production, Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, which carried No. 256 of 2021, to amend some provisions of the statute of the National Authority for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula, to make the administrative and supervisory jurisdiction over it affiliated with the Ministry of Defense instead of the Council of Ministers.

The amendments stipulated that the phrase "the Minister of Defense" should be replaced by the phrase "the Prime Minister" wherever it appears in the statutes of the National Authority for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula.

The decision required the approval of the Ministries of Defense and Interior and the General Intelligence Service of the decisions of the agency’s board of directors, which is responsible for granting the right to own or use land to Egyptians and foreigners, as well as to manage and invest land in Sinai.

The amendments add a new article to the statute that stipulates that the board of directors prepare the administrative and technical structure of the device in a way that guarantees job descriptions for its employees in accordance with the regulations in force in the armed forces, and in a way that allows it to be provided with the cadres required by the competent authorities of the Ministry of Defense.

The Minister of Defense, Mohamed Zaki, decided yesterday to submit the “National Authority for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula” to his authority instead of the Prime Minister, with the condition that the Ministries of Defense and Interior and the General Intelligence Service agree to the decisions of the agency’s board of directors, which is responsible for granting the right to own or use land and invest lands in the Sinai.

— Mada Masr Mada Masr (@MadaMasr) December 1, 2021

The truth of the decision

As soon as the decision was published, social media pioneers wondered about the legality of the Minister of Defense issuing a decision that bypassed the Prime Minister, but Egyptian media indicated that the decision of the Minister of Defense was only an implementation of the Republican decision issued by the President of the Republic, on August 16, 2020, to amend the Integrated Development Law In the Sinai Peninsula, to include replacing the Minister of Defense with the Prime Minister in all the powers granted to him by the Integrated Development Law for the Sinai Peninsula.

This was preceded by the approval of the Egyptian House of Representatives on July 20, 2020 to amend some provisions of the Law on Integrated Development in the Sinai Peninsula issued in 2012.

It is worth noting that the National Authority for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula is a public economic authority that was affiliated with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and was established in accordance with a decree-law issued by former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri in 2012. It includes ministries and provinces.

#Military_Spokesperson: Increasing the number of border guards forces and their capabilities in Rafah...

Instagram: https://t.co/nBJ4ccqW0S pic.twitter.com/KkVtWYs9Uz

— Military Spokesperson (@EgyArmySpox) November 8, 2021

In what context?

This comes less than a month after announcing the amendment of the security agreement between Egypt and Israel, to allow for an increase in the Egyptian army's forces in the Sinai, especially on the border with Israel.

On the eighth of November, the Egyptian military spokesman, Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez, announced that this amendment comes within the framework of an international agreement in a way that enhances the pillars of security in accordance with developments and changes, and also comes in light of Egyptian efforts to preserve Egyptian national security and a continuation of the efforts of the armed forces in controlling and securing borders. On the north-east strategic direction.

The Egyptian army has been intensifying its presence in the Sinai for years, especially with continuous military operations that it said target the militants of the Islamic State, and in 2018 it launched a large-scale military campaign under the name "The Comprehensive Operation", and three years before that, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decided to establish a unified command for the east of the Canal. (Sinai) and the fight against terrorism, it handles military operations and economic development at the same time.

In its new report today, @sinaifhr reveals for the first time that a dangerous presidential decision swallows up the multiples of the Rafah buffer zone and ends the "dream of return" in North Sinai.


EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS SHOWING ABOUT 3,000 KM OF LAND CONTAINED AS 'NO BORDER AREAS' IN A SERIES OF BUCKET WALLS https://t.co/0KmbRNY9Yc pic.twitter.com/DUebtoreQA

— Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) October 27, 2021

border with Israel

The army’s operations in Sinai are criticized by human rights activists, due to what they say is the lack of transparency in announcing the details of the battles and the displacement of the people of the villages on the battlefield.

At the end of last October, the Sinai Organization for Human Rights said that the presidential decision to amend the border area in Sinai was an end to the dream of the displaced people returning to their villages, which had entered the restricted border areas.

The aforementioned decision was issued by the President of the Republic last September regarding the expansion of the border areas and the positions of the armed forces in the areas adjacent to the eastern borders, from 13 km along the border to about 70 km, and from a width of 5 km to about 75 km in the depth of Sinai.

However, last week, Egyptian media published pictures of what they said was the return of the people of the village of Abu al-Araj (south of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai), after the army succeeded in eliminating the militants in the area and stabilizing the security situation.