Egyptian foreign minister attends Peres’ funeral, trends on Twitter

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry emerged as Egypt’s top trending hashtag on social media networks after attending senior Israeli statesman Shimon Peres’ funeral, held on Mount Herzl, Israel on Friday, a move which sparked debate online.

Photos have surfaced showing what appears to be Shoukry grieving at the funeral of the 93-year-old Israeli leader, in addition to photos of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was also present, looking sombre.

Shoukry and Abbas were the highest ranking Arab dignitaries in attendance, although other Arab states are reported to have dispatched low-ranking officials.

The Egyptian state officially dispatched Shoukry to attend the Peres funeral following initial reports from Israeli media outlets that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi may personally attend. They subsequently reported that Sisi sent a private letter of condolence to Israeli leaders instead.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday confirming Shoukry’s attendance, writing that he would be flying “from Cairo in a private plane to attend the official funeral on the morning of September 30, after which he is to immediately to return to his homeland.”

Many users criticized Shoukry’s presence at the funeral, describing it as an act of normalization with Israel. Although the hashtag “Condolences for Peres’ death is treason” was trending Friday, some social media users welcomed the act as a display of diplomacy.

On Twitter user asked, “will Egyptian TV announce an official state of mourning for ‘Sisi’s beloved?’”

طيب هو التليفزيون المصري مش هيعلن حالة الحداد
علي حبايب السيسي
#التعزيه_بوفاه_بيريز_خيانه

— ana BABA yala (@7okaha) September 30, 2016

Another Tweet commented on Shoukry’s seeming state of distress. It reads, “even if these are diplomatic state protocols, down with your protocols.”

حنى ولو كانت بروتوكولات دولية فلتسقط بروتوكولاتكم #سامح_شكري pic.twitter.com/pvQQuVKX6C

— ثورة 25 يناير 2011 (@sawra11) September 30, 2016

Prominent writer Wael Kandil tweeted: “Sisi is there in heart, Shoukry is there is person.” Kandil added, “Sisi’s authority personifies the Zionist dream.”

سلطة السيسي تجسيد لأحلام صهيونية، ومن ثم لن تهمهم شكليات حجم التمثيل في الجنازة.. السيسي هناك بقلبه، وسامح بجسده.... https://t.co/9yNqN1Jo9C

— wael kandil (@waiel65) September 30, 2016

The minister's presence at the funeral comes after this year’s ongoing improvements in Egyptian-Israeli diplomatic relations. In February of this year, the Israeli ambassador to Egypt Haim Koren is reported to have said “we respect the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, because he is an open president who is interested in bringing stability to the region in general and Egypt in particular.”

Peres was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in cementing the 1993 Oslo Accords with the Palestinian Authority and has been lauded as an Israeli moderate and “a dove.” However he has also been criticized for his military influence during his two terms as prime minister and his one term as president.

Peres, born in Poland and an early settler in Palestine in the 1930s, served as Member of the Knesset , Minister of Defense, Minister of Finance, Minister of Transport, Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President.

He was directly involved in establishing Israel’s nuclear program in the 50s and 60s, and the subsequent emergence of its nuclear weapons stockpile in the 1970 and 80s. He was also an architect of the 1956 tripartite invasion of Egypt led by the UK, France and Israel and a proponent of the construction of Israeli settlement projects in the occupied West Bank. He also supported the invasion of Lebanon in 1996 and the associated targeting of civilians at the UN’s compound in the town of Qana, as well as enforcing a blockade on the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.