Authorities in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula released early Monday a young Israeli man who had been arrested Saturday evening over a physical brawl with a local.
Nehorai Tamsit, 18, reportedly arrived almost two months ago in Sinai and struck a deal with a local vacation facility in the coastal town of Nuweibaa to stay free of charge, in return for bringing in groups of religious Jewish visitors and cooking kosher food for them.
On Saturday, he apparently waved a flag of the Chabad Hasidic movement at the end of Shabbat when his group posed for a photo.
A worker at the vacation facility was irked by the flag and came and pushed him, prompting Tamsit to push him back and other Israelis to stand in between them, according to the Ynet news site.
The workers — who had apparently already been unhappy with Tamsit’s perceived financial debt to them — argued with the Israeli visitors and turned off the wifi to prevent them from reporting the incident.
When the incident was nevertheless reported thanks to Israelis with Egyptian sim cards, police forces arrived and arrested Tamsit, forcing him to sign documents in Arabic, which he doesn’t speak, apparently admitting to offenses he didn’t commit, according to Ronit Shneur, an Israeli who accompanied Tamsit to the arrest facility.
Shneur told Ynet that the incident was marred by “injustice” and that authorities couldn’t communicate with Tamsit since he also doesn’t speak English.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the incident was being dealt with by the Israeli consul in Egypt, and that ministry officials were in contact with the man’s family members.
After Tamsit walked free and crossed the border back into Israel, lawyer Shiran Almado, who represented him, was cited by Channel 12 news as saying: “It could have been tiresome and long if not for the determined action by the consul in Egypt and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. I’m happy it ended this way; my client has crossed the border and is in the city of Eilat.”
Israeli tourists regularly flock by the thousands to the Sinai Peninsula, where they enjoy cheap beach vacations just a short distance from Israel, without the need to fly.
Last May, two Israelis were arrested in Sinai after they filmed themselves waving Israeli flags, while filming a video for social media. They were detained for two days before they were released and deported back to Israel.
While Egypt officially maintains full ties with Israel, its government has not encouraged a warm peace with the Jewish state, and normalization remains frowned upon there, although many Sinai businesses rely on Israeli tourists for their income.
Source : The Time Of Israel
