Egypt Steps up Punishment for Property Transgression

Members of security forces in Cairo, Egypt, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Members of security forces in Cairo, Egypt, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Egypt Steps up Punishment for Property Transgression

Members of security forces in Cairo, Egypt, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Members of security forces in Cairo, Egypt, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The Egyptian government has increased punishment for trespassers against public and private property, a week after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on officials to “act decisively” on the matter.

The cabinet on Wednesday introduced an amendment on the Penal Code so that punishment for property transgression sees to a minimum jailing term of five years and the payment of 500,000-1,000,000 pounds fine.

Any individual exploiting public or charity-designated property, especially by the agricultural sector, will be punishable by law. Transgressions include cultivating crops and unlicensed construction in designated plots.

Sisi, late December, criticized public officials for negligence and corruption in matters related to state property, urging to collect dues for state-owned property in a timely manner.

Some crimes, such as real-estate fraud and property-related tax evasion, saw amendments boosting punishment, such as the relevant minimal and maximal prison sentences to two and seven years respectively, alongside the payment of a minimum fine of 100,000 pounds.

If coercive force was used in a case of property transgression, such as the usage of arms or mobs including 10 or more members, even if unarmed, it will invoke a prison sentence of no less than three years that can go up to seven years, and a fine between 500,000-1,000,000 pounds.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.