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Egypt's Sisi Replaces Head of General Intelligence Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new chief of intelligence Hassan Mahmoud Rashad. Photo: Office of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new chief of intelligence Hassan Mahmoud Rashad. Photo: Office of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
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Egypt's Sisi Replaces Head of General Intelligence Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new chief of intelligence Hassan Mahmoud Rashad. Photo: Office of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new chief of intelligence Hassan Mahmoud Rashad. Photo: Office of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad as head of the powerful general intelligence agency on Wednesday, appointing the outgoing chief Abbas Kamel as an adviser to the presidency.
The agency has played a leading role under Sisi, handling foreign-policy matters as well as domestic-security issues.
Rashad previously served as a deputy to Kamel, and according to an informed security source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, this change is "a very natural move”. He said “there is a need for a significant figure to coordinate between the security agencies and a personal envoy for the president on sensitive files”.
Another security source told the daily that the decision “reflects an attempt to leverage the expertise of the former head of general intelligence and his capabilities in an important and new position”. General Kamel "has been appointed to three positions, a first of its kind, including a new role as the general coordinator of the security agencies”, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Sisi has depended heavily on Kamel, who was a fixture in meetings with senior foreign leaders and at summits. Kamel was often sent on trips abroad as an envoy.
Kamel, 68, was appointed head of the intelligence agency in 2018, before which he worked in military intelligence and was director of Sisi's office.
General Kamel played an important role in political and security communications to achieve calm in the region and establish a ceasefire in Gaza during the wars of 2021 and 2023.
Pictures released along with a statement by the presidency showed Rashad and Kamel meeting Sisi, and Rashad swearing an oath in front of the president.
Rashad is a graduate of Cairo's Military Technical College, a traditional training ground for leaders of the intelligence services.

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Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened

17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Italy: UNIFIL Has Vital Role, Mission Must be Strengthened

17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
17 October 2024, Italy, Rome: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto briefs the Italian Senate, on the recent attacks against the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Photo: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa

The UN peacekeeping mission to Lebanon is vital to ending war in the region and needs to be strengthened, not withdrawn from combat zones as Israel has demanded, Italy's defense minister said on Thursday.
The UN mission known as UNIFIL is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel -- an area that has seen fierce clashes this month between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.
Israel has said the UN forces are providing a human shield for Hezbollah and has fired at the UNIFIL bases repeatedly over the past week, injuring several peacekeepers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says UNIFIL should temporarily "get out of harm's way".
Italy has long been a major contributor to the multi-national operation and has denounced Israel for its actions, straining relations between two nations, which have been very close under Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's leadership.
"Israel needs to understand that these (UN) soldiers are not working for any one side. They are there to help maintain peace and promote regional stability," Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on Thursday.
He said the resolution establishing the UNIFIL mandate was last revised in 2006 and needed updating.
"UNIFIL is a complex mission with a mandate that is difficult to implement, has inadequate rules of engagement and forces that are not equipped for the current conflict," he said.
Crosetto has called on the United Nations to update its operational capacity, including creating a rapid deployment force to enhance UNIFIL's freedom of movement and giving them more fire power.
UNIFIL is meant to ensure peace in southern Lebanon and guarantee that only the regular Lebanese army is present in the area. However, it has proved incapable of preventing Hezbollah from building up its forces or preventing Israeli incursions.
"The practical disconnect between the assigned mission and the capacity to implement it makes it more necessary than ever to rethink and strengthen UNIFIL," Crosetto said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel saw UNIFIL as playing a key role in the "day after" war on Hezbollah.
Meloni is due to travel to Beirut on Friday to discuss the situation with Lebanese officials -- the first Western leader to visit the country since the latest surge of violence.
Crosetto said he would also go to Beirut and Tel Aviv next week.
"I believe that Lebanon is a key piece for the stability of the entire Middle East," he said. "If we cannot even find the strength to have a strong, unified international action in a place like this, we probably won't succeed anywhere."