Watan-Social media platforms recently buzzed with a video clip from an episode of the program “On My Responsibility,” hosted by the pro-regime media figure Ahmed Moussa.
In the clip, a person described as a “Sheikh of Sinai Tribes” appeared threatening to slaughter Palestinians if they entered Sinai and Egypt. However, it turned out that the controversial video is old and has no relation to current events whatsoever.
The Sheikh, identified as “Issa Al-Kharafin” and referred to as the “Sheikh of Sinai Tribes,” a military expert in Egypt with the rank of brigadier general, was seen in the mentioned episode stating: “If any Palestinian steps foot on my land, I will slaughter him right here,” while gesturing towards his neck.
Ahmed Moussa intervened as if speaking about Sinai as a separate entity from Egypt, saying: “You will not allow it,” to which the Sheikh responded firmly: “Never, we will never allow it.”
The video is old and this is the truth. It was revealed that the video clip is not new but dates back to previous years, specifically February 11, 2018. It was part of a dialogue segment from an episode of the program “On My Responsibility,” hosted by the presenter Ahmed Moussa on the “Sada Elbalad” channel.
The circulation of the old video coincided with reports indicating plans to relocate Gaza residents to Sinai with the assistance of the Sisi regime, under international auspices and gains that the financially strained regime would reap.
According to the fact-checking platform “Matsadqish,” the video featured Issa Kharafin, known as the “Sheikh of Sinai Tribes,” the late military expert Brigadier General Talaat Moussa, and writer Hani Labib, a member of the National Counterterrorism Council, discussing the comprehensive operation in northern Sinai in 2018 at the time of the episode’s airing.
“لو يطب أرضي أي مخلوق فلسطيني إلا أدبحه”.. تهديد من شخص يحمل صفة “شيخ قبائل سيناء” قدمه المطبلاتي الإعلامي أحمد موسى، ويهدد بذبح الفلسطينيين إن دخلوا سيناء ومصر.. ما رأيك؟ pic.twitter.com/xHohNeYwPI
— مجلة ميم.. مِرآتنا (@Meemmag) February 18, 2024
Old Scheme
Moussa asked the military expert about responding to what was being raised about the displacement of North Sinai residents from some border areas in North Sinai as part of counterterrorism efforts, in preparation for handing over those lands to Palestinians as part of the “deal of the century.” This suggests that the scenario of Palestinian displacement was a Zionist plan that began years before the “Operation Protective Edge.”
The military expert responded that “the Palestinians have their own land that they should never give up.”
He claimed that “the Muslim Brotherhood, when it was in power, accepted an agreement with Hamas to relinquish 700 square kilometers of Sheikh Zuwaid and Rafah, and Israel encouraged them with 700 square kilometers in the Negev Desert.”
Deal of the Century
According to the same source, Sheikh Kharafin of the Sinai Tribes intervened in the dialogue, saying: “By God, if any Palestinian creature steps on my land, I will slaughter him… This is the land of martyrs… We will never allow it.”
This indicates that Kharafin’s statement was a response to discussions about the “deal of the century” and what was rumored at the time about giving Palestinians land in Sinai, not what is happening now in secrecy.
The term “deal of the century” refers to a normalization deal that the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump sought to impose to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Various reports stated that “the deal” included Egypt relinquishing part of Sinai’s territory as part of establishing the Palestinian state. The deal ended with a change in the U.S. administration.