All a big misunderstanding. The police evidently thought the guy was a terrorist just because rockets at been launched at the Israelis, the guy shot at the police from his car when they tried to stop him, and the car was found to contain a rocket launcher when they finally arrested him. Luckily, the Egyptians intervened and helpfully explained that the guy was one of those business professionals from Hamas. [See here.] So, he’s been released by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas (who promised last week to confront terror with an “iron fist”) — but only after a FULL DAY in detention.
Meanwhile, and I’m not makin’ this up, AP reports that PA Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfik Abu Khoussa issued an official statement asserting that “it was ‘completely unacceptable’ to have Hamas members touring with a rocket launcher.” Good to get that cleared up.
By the way, we give the Egyptians a couple of billion a year in foreign aid. If you do what they did here in, say, Chicago, you get indicted for material support to terrorism. If you do it in Cairo, you’re one of our staunch allies in the “war on terror” — making your vital contribution to Middle East peace. Whatever.