Muslim Brotherhood Members in Ankara Fear the Turkish-Egyptian Rapprochement

Women gather for support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi near the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (File photo: Reuters)
Women gather for support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi near the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (File photo: Reuters)
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Muslim Brotherhood Members in Ankara Fear the Turkish-Egyptian Rapprochement

Women gather for support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi near the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (File photo: Reuters)
Women gather for support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi near the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (File photo: Reuters)

The young members of the Muslim Brotherhood organization fear "upcoming scenarios" after recent reports about the Turkish-Egyptian rapprochement, while the leadership ignores the situation, according to a number of experts in Egypt.

The experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that if the Turkish authorities began deporting some wanted young men to Cairo, within the framework of rapprochement, those who do not have the support of the leaders will be sent back home.

Expert on fundamentalist movements Amr Abdel Moneim asserted that the youth of the Brotherhood are in a state of confusion and uncertainty.

Abdel Moneim believes that Turkey’s decision to oblige anti-Cairo channels to adhere to media charters has kept Brotherhood youth in disarray.

Some of them believe the channels will be shut down permanently, or members will be handed over to Egypt, as happened in February 2019 with Mohammad Abdel Hafeez.

On the possibility of deporting young people and some leaders in the coming period, Abdel Moneim explained that about a year ago, many Egyptians obtained exceptional nationalities or permanent residencies. However, there remains the issue of the members with death sentences, whom Cairo wants, according to the expert.

He estimated there are 8,000 Muslim Brotherhood members in Turkey with their families, and about 3,000 activists.

Abdel Moneim suggested three scenarios for the future of the Brotherhood’s members and their channels in Turkey in light of the rapprochement with Cairo.

The first is not to create issues for the Turkish authorities with Egypt, the second is to find alternatives in other countries, and the third is an individual departure to Canada, the Netherlands, or Malaysia, or a mass departure to countries that are working to have them under an intelligence framework, such as Iran and Malaysia.

Brotherhood leaders believe that Turkish citizenship and media positions can no longer protect them.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Zaghloul, a researcher specializing in fundamentalist movements in Egypt, indicated that the developments of the Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement threaten the youth of the organization in Ankara, especially those who don't enjoy cover from any leader.

In the latest signs of rapprochement between Ankara and Cairo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that a senior Turkish diplomatic delegation will visit Cairo in May.

Zaghloul described Turkey's decision to oblige media to adhere to the charters as instructions to control the Muslim Brotherhood media only.

He indicated that deportation has always been an issue for young members because the leaders have their personal arrangements. It is likely that if the youths are sent back, they will not include those who are supported by the leaders.

A large number of prominent Brotherhood youth are sentenced to life imprisonment or hard labor, and the leaders will not hand them over. Many of them have obtained Turkish residency and have established a network of international relations that may provide protection, especially with human rights organizations.

Zaghloul indicated that the Brotherhood channels will work to control its rhetoric in the coming period, and the leaders will try to use international relations to achieve gains.

A number of the organization’s youth in Ankara complain that the leadership has completely abandoned them, after they were promised to obtain identification papers that enable them to travel outside the country, according to observers.



Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Troops Battle Palestinian Fighters in Gaza City of Khan Younis

 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes during an Israeli military operation, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli troops battled Palestinian fighters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and destroyed tunnels and other infrastructure, as they sought to suppress small militant units that have continued to hit troops with mortar fire, the military said on Friday.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said troops had killed around 100 Palestinian fighters since Israeli troops began their latest operation in Khan Younis on Monday, which continued as pressure mounted for a deal to halt the fighting.

It said seven small units that had been firing mortars at the troops were hit in an air strike, while further south, in Rafah, four fighters were also killed in air strikes.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing said it fired rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and other Israeli towns near Gaza. No casualties were reported, the Israeli ambulance service said.

The continued fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the IDF has had in eliminating fighters who have reverted to a form of guerrilla warfare in the ruins of the coastal strip.

A Telegram channel operated by the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups in Gaza, said fighters had been waging fierce battles with Israeli troops east of Khan Younis with machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

Medics said at least six Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in eastern Khan Younis.

US PRESSURE

US President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, both urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a proposed ceasefire deal as soon as possible.

However there has been no clear sign of movement in talks to end the fighting and bring home some 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still being held in Gaza. Public statements from Israel and Hamas appear to indicate that serious differences remain between the two sides.

Local residents contacted by messenger app, said Israeli tanks had pushed into three towns to the east of Khan Younis, Bani Suhaila, Al-Zanna and Al-Karara and blew up several houses in some residential districts.

The military said air force jets hit around 45 targets, including tunnels and two launch pads from which rockets were fired into Beersheba in southern Israel.

Even while the fighting continued around Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, in the northern part of the enclave, Israeli tanks pushed into the Tel Al-Hawa suburb west of Gaza city, residents said.

A Hamas Telegram channel said fighters targeted an Israeli tank in Tal Al-Hawa and shot an Israeli soldier.

Medics said two Palestinians were also killed in an air strike in western Gaza city.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from armed groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.