The Egyptian government clearly supports the established government of Syria and sees unleashing Jihadists as aimed at escalating the regional conflict. An editorial in Al Ahram, the government-linked newspaper, entitled “A Blow to the Astana” strikes out at the rebels as terrorists, which “include extremist fighters from all over the world who believe in IS’s murderous ideology.”
Al Ahram adds that “it cannot be a mere coincidence that the attack on Aleppo by terrorist groups on Wednesday Nov. 28 took place within hours of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel hopefully ending nearly two months of relentless Israeli bombing that led to the death of over 3,600 Lebanese civilians and massive destruction in Beirut…. On the exact same day that violence flared in Syria, … Netanyahu warned the Syrian regime not to ‘play with fire’ by continuing to provide military assistance to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, along with Iran. He also warned that the regime would pay a heavy price if such Syrian support for Hezoullah continued through the alleged smuggling of weapons along the Syrian-Lebanese border.”
