Israel arrested him, Sadat honored him, and lost his son.. Who is the sheikh of the Sinai Mujahideen?

CAIRO -

In April 2018, Sheikh Al-Sinawi Hassan Ali Khalaf stood before senior Egyptian statesmen during the armed forces’ educational symposium on the occasion of the Sinai Liberation Day, speaking about the heroic mujahideen in the war of attrition against Israel in 1967, to mention the names of some leaders who fought the Israeli occupation and present their photos and narrate Their stories, he says, "learned us to despise fear, because death does not despise."

Sheikh Khalaf stood accusing those he described as hired men and evil people of trying to drive a wedge between the people of Sinai and the armed forces and the police force. ".

The Sheikh, nicknamed "Sheikh of the Mujahideen" - who passed away last Thursday - saluted the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to which the latter responded, expressing his respect for him and the people of Sinai, and that this period is harsh and difficult, and that the people of Sinai bear these measures, in reference to the campaign The security launched by the Egyptian authorities against militants in this region for years.

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In turn, the General Command of the Egyptian Armed Forces mourned the deceased Sheikh, noting that he had a heroic role in the glorious October War, which will remain immortal in the history record.

The Sinai Mujahideen Association also called him, and its president, Sheikh Abdullah Jahama, said that the late hero had given himself in order to protect the homeland, and for him he spent years of his life in Israeli prisons, for standing against the Israeli occupation in Sinai in the trench of resistance, referring to his role among the roles and tasks performed by the men of the region. Civilians - under the supervision and guidance of the leadership at that time - during the period of its occupation.

The sheikhs and symbols of Sinai also mourned Sheikh Khalaf, and stressed his great role in the struggle against the Israeli occupier, and pointed out his prominent role in tribal life, as he is one of the prominent tribal leaders, not in Sinai alone but in all regions of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The struggle against Israel

Sheikh Khalaf was born in the Joura area, south of the city of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai, to a father who is considered one of the most prominent symbols of his tribe. He belongs to the Al-Khalafat clan, one of the Al-Sawarka clans. His uncle Sheikh Khalaf Hassan Al-Khalafat was known for standing up to Israel’s attempts to buy Sinai lands.

After the setback of June 1967 and the Israeli occupation army's takeover of Sinai, Sheikh Khalaf formed the Sinai Arab Organization to defend his land against the occupiers, to recruit the youth of the Sinai tribes and include them in the resistance cells against the occupation.

During the years of the war of attrition, Khalaf led many commando operations, including striking the Israeli command center in Al-Arish and the Israeli occupation camps in the areas of Sheikh Zuweid and Al-Arish Airport, and used camels in carrying out his operations.

The Egyptian army used him to transport missiles, weapons, and supplies from the east of the Canal to the depths of Sinai, using his skills to navigate through the trails of the Sinai desert, and to stay for several days in the arid desert to carry out guerrilla operations against the occupier.

trial

After years of struggle, Khalaf fell into the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, was tried for the murder of children, and was sentenced to 149 years in prison, to confront the judge with courage during his trial and shout, "You are the ones who killed children in Bahr al-Baqar," a phrase that the armed forces referred to in a statement of his obituary. By saying, "Reply as if he is the one who is prosecuting them."

It is noteworthy that on the morning of April 8, 1970, the Israeli occupation aircraft bombed an elementary school in the village of Bahr al-Baqar in the Sharkia Governorate, killing 30 children and wounding 50 others.

prisoner exchange

After the October 1973 war, a prisoner exchange deal was concluded between Egypt and Israel, to release Sheikh Khalaf from Israeli prison after spending more than two years behind bars.

In view of his efforts in resisting the occupation and assisting the Egyptian army, the late President Anwar El-Sadat honored him with the First Class Excellence Medal in 1974.

After Israel withdrew from the Goura area in North Sinai in 1982, the sheikh settled there and worked as a customary judge for reconciliation between families and individuals according to Bedouin traditions, and resolved many disputes between families of the Sinai tribes until his death.

lost his son

In September 2013, his son Hussein was shot dead in his home during an Egyptian army operation in Goura.

The Egyptian Armed Forces mourned the deceased at the time in an official statement published by its official page on Facebook, and the military spokesman, Colonel Arkan Harb Ahmed Muhammad Ali, wrote, “We all offer our leaders, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers our sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the martyr and the dear Sinai people in their dear deceased, praying to God Almighty that May He bestow mercy and forgiveness on him, and inspire his relatives patience and solace.”

Sheikh Khalaf considered his son a "martyr", and commented on his death, "My family includes 4 martyrs and dozens of tribesmen who rose to martyrdom at the hands of the takfiris," as he put it.