Why did Sisi depose his long-time advisor, spy chief Abbas Kamel?

Shortly after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi fired his longtime closest confidant, intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, who was a key figure in the Hamas-Israel negotiations and also in charge of other key regional security files, several scenarios resurfaced the sudden, unexpected movement.

The former head of Egypt’s secret service was the president’s running mate for many years, even before Sisi took power. Kamel was the head of his office at the time when Sisi was chief of military intelligence and then defense minister.

Kamel is known for building strategic relationships with Israeli intelligence officials, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah organizations, having been assigned his previous role back in June 2018.

Unconfirmed Israeli news reports indicated a state of dissatisfaction within the Israeli government with Kamel’s removal, as he appeared to have been instrumental in hostage negotiations with Hamas leaders.

Demoted or promoted?

On Wednesday, October 16, Kamel was appointed Sisi’s security adviser, special presidential envoy and general coordinator of the country’s security agencies, raising questions about whether the new posts, which previously did not officially exist, are more of an opportunity for demotion as the general coordinator of the country’s security authorities. Promote the second most powerful man in Egypt.

Kamel’s former deputy, veteran intelligence officer Hassan Rashad, was sworn in as the new head of the General Intelligence Agency. Unlike his predecessor, there is limited information available about Rashad.

“Abbas was fired during turbulent times, as Israel’s deadly war on Gaza entered its second year, a war in neighboring Sudan, tensions in the Red Sea… and a conflict with Ethiopia over Egypt’s share of Nile water… Rashad” has big ones indeed “To fill our shoes,” said a security expert The new Arab Due to the political sensitivity of the topic, this is done on condition of anonymity.

While dissidents see the decision as evidence of political failure and criticize Sisi on social media platforms, pro-government media were quick to praise the decision.

On the other hand, statesmen, including the Grand Mufti of Egypt, publicly congratulated Kamel on his new post, although his job description is still unclear.

Growing political influence

According to recent news reports, Rashad, who was previously Kamel’s deputy, was already handling key political and security matters related to the recent rapprochement with Iran.

But unlike Kamel, Rashad has not appeared much in the media recently, leaving the public wondering who he is and what role he is likely to play in the coming phase, given Egypt’s many regional challenges.

On Thursday, less than 24 hours after Rashad’s new assignment, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Sisi in Cairo. This marked the first visit by a senior Iranian official to Egypt in nearly a decade, while tensions in the region were already rising due to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and invasion of Lebanon.

Meanwhile, social media activists expressed conspiracy theories that allegedly led to Kamel’s seemingly arbitrary removal. This was spurred by reports of an undeclared meeting he held with a senior Israeli security official in Cairo over the weekend.

On Monday, The Times of Israel reported that Ronen Bar, the director of Israel’s Shin Bet, also known as Shabak, met Abbas in Cairo a day earlier. Egypt has so far neither officially denied nor confirmed the meeting.

According to the Israeli news site, citing an unnamed source Walla Outlet, the meeting produced no breakthroughs.

“Kamel’s growing influence in local and international intelligence circles and within the Egyptian military may have been alarming to Sisi. The president may have decided to play it safe and keep him close by offering him honorary or advisory positions while stripping him of his authority during the process,” said the security expert TNA.

In 2013, then-defense minister Sisi led a military coup, overthrowing Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi and seizing power as the country’s de facto leader before being elected president a year later.