Hamas terrorists released into Egypt create security threat for region, Europe, expert tells ‘Post’

Bringing some reassurance, Lande said, is the “that the Egyptian intelligence and security are very, very strongly vigilant of every Palestinian, specifically those who were in Israeli prisons.

There is concern that terrorists released into Egypt as part of the final ceasefire-hostage deal will create new cells on Israel’s border in a similar fashion to those seen in Lebanon, Arab affairs expert Ruth Wasserman Lande, the former deputy ambassador to Cairo, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

“Palestinians were known to do that in Lebanon, in Kuwait, in Tunisia, which was inside all three places,” she told the Post, also confirming there was a concern that the terrorists could radicalize the local Egyptian population further.

Bringing some reassurance, Lande said, is the “that the Egyptian intelligence and security are very, very strongly vigilant of every Palestinian, specifically those who were in Israeli prisons because they obviously committed some kind of terror act… They are very, very vigilant. They’re wary of the presence of any Palestinians in the country, and I have little doubt that they will be monitoring every step.”

Despite agreeing to accept the released Palestinian prisoners, Lande said she was “not even sure that they will not return them” to the Gaza Strip, out of sheer desire to protect Egyptian territory from their influence and potential actions.

As the “de facto landlords” of Gaza until 1967, when Israel obtained the land after being attacked by a coalition of Arab states, leading to the Six Day War, Cairo is aware of the security risks posed by a radicalized population, she explained.

“They did not want it back in 1979 [and] that says a lot,” Lande commented. “Very clearly, they are aware of the potential leakage of instability and the creation of terror cells amid certain parts of the Palestinian population, the potential for radicalization of other populations in the surroundings, such as Egyptian populations, even though Egyptians are [already] indoctrinated with hatred against Israel and Jews but there is again, a vigilance and weariness amongst the Egyptian authorities regarding radicalization, Islamic radicalization, because they know that it will hurt their own regime.”

Despite apparent concerns for the infiltration of radicalized Palestinians, Lande claimed that Turkish and Qatari influence had already infiltrated the country, which “almost by definition, means radicalization.”

Despite being made acutely aware of the threat posed by terrorist organizations in the Palestinian territory, Egypt has frequently criticized Israel throughout the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza. Asked to reflect on the current status of Cairo-Jerusalem ties, Lande said that there has “not been a maintenance of high-level connection between the leaders, and that is key, especially with a country like Egypt.”

“You need to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Listen, this is not exactly as it seems’ – this doesn’t exist, and this is a mistake on our part. Of course, it’s also a mistake on Egypt’s part, but I don’t want to completely disregard our role in this situation,” Lande shared.

More important than the current cold feeling between the two countries is Egypt’s failure to respond to the drone crisis, allowing weapons to be passed into the Negev. ”If it were reversed, if our Bedouins were simply allowed or not stopped, you know, passing weapons to the Egyptian, an uproar would arise, and rightfully so. I mean, it’s unimaginable that this could even happen,” she explained.

Europe unprepared for Palestinian immigration

Less prepared than the Egyptian authorities is Europe, Lande noted, stressing that there was a significant risk that the lack of vetting would allow terrorists to evade detection in the West.

“I think Europe is unprepared, full stop, not for the Palestinians who will leave Egypt, but in general, for what they’ve already welcomed with open arms,” Lande told The Post, noting that thousands of men were entering the UK, not women or children. “Men are being brought in every day. I mean, if I were a UK citizen, that would certainly concern me a lot. Now, granted, it’s not part of the EU, but this is very problematic with other countries. They’ve already started vetting issues of immigration, not all of them, but some of them. One doesn’t need an Israeli analyst to call that out [a problem] that’s very overt already.”

Lande pointed out that recently, Irish women have begun complaining online about feeling Ireland is unsafe for them. “There’s no love lost in Ireland for Israel at all, [their concerns are] simply about the safety or lack thereof for Irish women in Ireland, given immigration, particularly Muslim immigration, politically incorrect to say that, but it is what it is. Likewise, in Sweden and other countries,” she shared.

Feeling unsafe is a situation that Lande can empathize with. While Lande shared that she felt safe in Egypt during her stay from 2003 to 2006, she admitted that it would be a very different experience now.

“As a Jew, as an Israeli, and as a woman,” Lande said that she wouldn’t worry about her personal security.

“I wouldn’t be able to, or I wouldn’t feel at all, at all at all comfortable saying that I’m Jewish on the street. But then again, I don’t feel safe in Brussels either,” she continued.