Hamas-Damascus, contrary to Western reports, is firmly maintaining its ties with the Assad regime and the Iranian officials posted to the Syrian capital and Beirut as well as Hizballah, debkafile's sources report. Neither is Hamas seeking to break its ties with Iran, its arms and cash supplier for years. Indeed, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is seizing on the coming Tehran visit by Hamas' Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh as opening a back door for mending its fences with the Iranian leadership.

Egypt's immediate future is up in the air over unanswerable questions about its form of government, the nature of its leadership and the lack of clarity about its new constitution. The country is meanwhile on the brink of economic collapse.

Washington and Jerusalem were dismayed to discover last week that Egypt's transitional military rulers (SCAF) were preparing to drop the reins of government and hand them over - lock, stock and barrel, including the armed forces - to civilian rule, i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood, at the earliest opportunity. By staying mute while this process ripened, Israel emboldened Muslim Brotherhood leaders to reiterate that they were not bound by any pledges to Washington to uphold the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

The military rulers of Egypt are upending President Barack Obama's plans for Egypt by bringing forward the handover of power to the Muslim parliamentary majority - without providing for the framing of a democratic constitution and the election of a moderate president. To save the day, Washington hopes to handpick an acceptable ...

Egypt's military rulers have their hands too full with the breakdown of order in Egypt's cities to attend to the rising Islamist power in parliament. In any case, we reveal that while the Muslim Brotherhood won the election, the liberal bloc came second – not the Salafis and Mubarak ...

The Egyptian military council quelled this week's riots against its rule by drawing the mainstream political parties and presidential contenders into its corner and away from the protesters by the threat of postponing the general elections they are pinning their hopes on.

The protests in Cairo and other Egyptian cities do not count as the country's second revolution this year. The angry masses battling police in Cairo's Tahrir Square and the centers of Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said for four days are not backed by any serious political entity, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which Tuesday, Nov. 22 threw in their lot with the military council. So will the protesters be satisfied with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi's promise of a presidential election in mid-2012? Not so far.

Libya may well be plunged in even bloodier strife after Muammar Qaddafi's passing. The meddling foreign hands backing rival individuals, militias and tribes will only exacerbate the divisions and animosities riddling the interim government of the NTC and the country at large.

After thriving away from politics under Hosni Mubarak and shunning Tahrir Square, Egypt's Salafis have set up parties to run for parliamentary elections in November and turning to street violence.

The Israel-Hamas prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit and the exposure of the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador opened two new US fronts against Iran: The relocation of Hamas HQ from Damascus to Cairo which deprived Iran and Syria of their Palestinian lever and a pretext for the Saudis ...

The United States has finally given Israel a green light to attack Iran – but only its Red Sea warships not its nuclear sites. But Israel is wary of an armed clash with Iran – at least until Gilad Shalilt is safe at home and it can be sure ...

The Obama administration has never wavered from its ambition to see the Muslim Brotherhood in government in Egypt or its policy of linking Egypt's destiny with a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  It hopes to discourage the burgeoning Muslim Brotherhood from casting its fate with Tehran on the grounds that Iran has no influence on Israel whereas American leverage on Jerusalem is substantial.

Thursday, Oct. 13 Cairo took two steps inimical to Israel. Egyptian Air Force Chief Gen. Reda Hafiz said: "Sinai is our land and we do not need permission to increase our forces on our land" in direct contravention of the 1979 peace treaty signed with Israel which demilitarized Sinai by common consent.  Then, without waiting for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit's release from captivity, Cairo let the first Damascus- based Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzuk settle down in Cairo.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Israel of increasing isolation in the Middle East and said "Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey." Before landing in Israel Monday, Oct. 3, he also said:“Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength.”
debkafile: Israel is paying the price for not striking Iran and for Washington's evolving ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood's role in post-revolt Arab capitals – sought by Barack Obama – faces counter-pressure from Russia, China and Iran – particularly in Damascus. Not just Iran, but Russia and China too have stepped up their arms consignments to the regime, loath to see fundamentalist Muslim power reigning in any Middle East capital. In Damascus, Moscow has set up a military-diplomatic headquarters.

Anwar Sadat's assassin of three decades ago rides again at the head of a fundamentalist Salafi party running for election while Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdogan draws frowns during his Cairo visit for dishing out patronizing advice to his hosts.

The results of a recent opinion poll in Egypt shocked Washington. Two-thirds of the sample canvassed promised to vote for the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist Salafi movements, leaving pro-democracy and liberal factions no more than a third. The leading MB candidate Salim Al-Awa wants to cut off ties with ...

The Islamic domination of Cairo's Tahrir Square was closely coordinated with al Qaeda-linked attacks in Sinai, as radicals use the post-revolution turmoil to gain strength in Egypt, including the violent Al-Takfir wal-Hijra, believed moribund for decades, which has set up shop in Sinai.

Jordan's King Abdullah II was warned in Washington this week to hurry up and introduce political reforms because a revolt against the throne was knocking at his door from neighboring Syria, debkafile's Washington sources report.  US intelligence updates informed him the threat came from the potential spillover of the tumult rocking Syria. If that happened, Israel would have to decide whether to step in to save the Hashemite throne as well as preventing the unrest infecting West Bank Palestinians and Israeli Arabs communities.

The Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian military junta were hand in glove in framing the Mossad Spy trap for the US and Israel. They are also in cahoots to build up the Hamas as the Brotherhood's instrument for seizing control of the Palestinian movement and displacing US influence including its ...