Egypt: Parliament Approves Forming Supreme Council for Countering Terrorism

A general view shows members of the Egyptian parliament attending the opening session at the main headquarters of Parliament in Cairo, Egypt, January 10, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

Cairo- Waleed Abdul Rahman

Egypt’s parliament preliminarily approved on Monday a draft law on establishing a Supreme Council for ‎Combating Terrorism and Extremism ‎‎(SCCTE), which is headed by the Egyptian president and includes 18 official members.



The Prime Minister, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and defense and interior ministers are expected to occupy seats in the council.



"The council will consist of the prime ‎minister, parliament speaker, grand sheikh ‎of Al-Azhar, Pope of the Coptic Church, ‎minister of defence, minister of religious endowments, ‎minister of youth and sports, minister of ‎social solidarity, minister of foreign affairs, ‎minister of interior, minister justice, minister ‎of telecommunications, minister of ‎education, and minister of higher ‎education," says the law, adding that "it ‎will also include chief of general ‎intelligence, head of the Administrative ‎Control Authority (ADA), and other public ‎figures who can contribute to SCCTE's ‎strategy."‎



Last July, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree establishing the council to develop policies aimed at “countering extremism.”



The new draft law aims at committing the state to confront terrorism in all its forms and its sources of funding according to a specific timetable, whilst protecting rights and freedoms by mobilizing social institutional capacities to reduce and counter causes of terrorism, the bill says.



Parliamentary sources said that a number of deputies demanded that the SCCTE should include civilian experts.



Sources pointed out that “the council will also aim to address the aftermath of terrorism.”



Egypt is fighting ISIS’ self-proclaimed state in Sinai which has been advocating terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula since the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi from power in 2013.



The SCCTE also faces elements and armed movements belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt considers a terrorist organization.



Muslim Brotherhood militants have cranked up violence in the past months, targeting both civilians and police alike.



Most MPs heaped praise on the law, ‎agreeing that it will help forge a national ‎strategy necessary to help the country's ‎battle against terrorism and extremism.



MP ‎Abdel-Fattah Mohamed said "Muslim ‎Brotherhood-affiliated elements are still ‎widespread in government sectors and ‎schools, and the role of the new council is ‎to strike with an iron hand on these elements."‎



Article one of the law states that the council will forge ‎a national anti-terrorism and counter-extremism strategy ‎every five years.



“This strategy should ‎mobilize all the country's forces to combat ‎terrorism and extremism,” reads the article, ‎adding that “the SCCTE's headquarters will ‎be in Cairo.”

</s>Netanyahu bot gets Facebook ‘hate speech’ suspension

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party was found on Thursday to have violated Facebook’s hate-speech policy after a post from his account saying Arabs “want to destroy us all.”

Israeli media reported that the post which said Israeli Arabs “want to destroy us all — women, children and men” appeared on Netanyahu’s official Facebook page and was subsequently removed by Likud.

“After careful review of the Likud campaign’s bot activities, we found a violation of our hate speech policy,” a Facebook statement said, referring to an automated chat function.

“We also found that the bot was misusing the platform in the time period allowed to contact people. As a result, we temporarily suspended the bot for 24 hours. Should there be any additional violations, we will continue to take appropriate action.”

A Likud spokesman told AFP that the freeze went into effect on Thursday morning and would not affect the party’s online election campaign.

FAST FACT Netanyahu has used similar tactics in the past, including warning on election day in 2015 that Israeli Arabs were voting in ‘droves,’ a comment for which he later apologized.

Netanyahu, who is fighting an election battle for his political survival, said the message had nothing to do with him.

“It wasn’t me. It was one of the workers at our election headquarters,” he told Israeli public

radio. “That mistake was fixed quickly.”

“Think logically: Do you think I would really write such a thing?“

“I have friends in Arab countries and I have respect for human beings regardless of whether they are Jewish or Arab, Muslim or Christian.”

Netanyahu has long faced accusations from critics that he has demonized Israel’s 1.4 million Arab citizens with his political rhetoric.

With the Sept. 17 vote looming, he and Likud drew outrage from opposition parties with a push for last-minute legislation that would allow party officials to bring cameras to polling stations.

His critics labelled it a naked attempt to depress turnout among Israel’s Arab population, as it could intimidate many into staying away.

Netanyahu has used similar tactics in the past, including warning on election day in 2015 that Israeli Arabs were voting in “droves,” a comment for which he later apologized.</s>Cairo, April 3 (IANS) The Egyptian parliament has preliminarily approved a new law to establish a supreme council for combating terrorism, the media reported.

Citing Ahram news website, Xinhua on Tuesday reported the final vote on the 20-article law was postponed until a later meeting due to the lack of two-thirds of parliament members as required by the Egyptian constitution.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi originally ordered the creation of the Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism after meeting with the National Defence Council following terrorist attacks last year.

The law approval came hours before official announcement of Sisi’s victory in Egypt’s 2018 presidential election.

The law, which was referred to parliament early this week, aims to mobilize all the country’s forces not only to rid the country of terrorist elements, but also to contain extremist and radical ideologies, said head of the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Bahaa Abu Shoqa.

According to the law, the council will forge a national anti-terrorism and counter-extremism strategy every five years.

The council, which will be led by the president and composed of 17 members, will coordinate with religious, security and media institutions to spread moderate religious thoughts, said the law.

The council will also amend legislation to better support the battle against terrorism, and amend educational curriculums to spread ideas of citizenship and tolerance in schools and universities.

According to the law, the council will move to set up a regional coalition of Arab countries to exchange information and boost cooperation in fighting terrorism.

Egypt has been suffering from a wave of terror attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen, soldiers and civilians since the army toppled former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The Egyptian security forces have killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country’s anti-terror war.
The Egyptian Parliament approves a draft law creating the 18-member Supreme Council for ‎Combating Terrorism and Extremism. The new body is headed by the President and is expected to also contain the Prime Minister, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the defence and interior ministers. The new body replaces the National Council to Combat Terrorism and Extremism created by Presidential decree by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2017.