REPORT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood new cabinet "illegitimate"

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood denounced as "illegitimate" a new cabinet sworn in by interim President Adli Mansour on Tuesday.
   
"It's an illegitimate government, an illegitimate prime minister, an illegitimate cabinet. We don't recognize anyone in it. We don't even recognize their authority as representatives of the government," spokesman Gehad El-Haddad told Reuters.

This comes as Sherif Ismail, head of an Egyptian state-owned oil holding company operating in the south of the country, was sworn in  as interim oil minister.
   
Ismail is chairman of the Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) which manages exploration and production concessions, establishes joint ventures with private companies and constructs oil infrastructure.

Earlier, the head of Egypt's armed forces was sworn in as interim first deputy prime minister, as well as keeping his posts as minister of defense and military production.
   
The new interim government has been backed by General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's army that overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3. According to analysts, the new post is likely to further increase the military's influence over political decisions.

Liberal politician Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, a Christian, was sworn in as interim trade and industry minister.
 
Meanwhile, a senior official in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said that interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi had not offered the movement any posts in the transitional cabinet, and that if he did, the Brotherhood would reject it.             

"Beblawi, or anyone from the government of the coup, did not offer us any position in the government, and if they do, we will refuse," Mohamed El-Beltagi told reporters.             

Earlier, El-Beltagi said that talk of national reconciliation among rival parties and groups was "lies".            

"We will not see national reconciliation unless it's on the basis of the ending of the military coup," Mohamed El-Beltagi told reporters.                              

A spokesman for Egypt's interim president had said earlier that authorities expected Islamist movements to join in national reconciliation, including the Muslim Brotherhood whose Mohamed Morsi was toppled as president by the army on July 3.          

"We expect most Islamic currents to participate in reconciliation including the Muslim Brotherhood," Ahmed Elmoslmany told reporters in Cairo.                             

He said the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist Nour Party had both been offered cabinet posts. Both groups have refused to participate in the government, although Nour has said it will advise interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi.     

Israel-Sinai:                             

Israel gave Egypt the go-ahead to deploy two infantry battalions in Sinai after clashes took place in the volatile region, army radio reported Tuesday.     

The radio added that the Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon approved a request presented from the Egyptian army to station one battalion at El-Arish in the north of the peninsula and one at Sharm al-Sheikh in the south.                

Arrests:                   

Egyptian authorities arrested 401 people over clashes that took place in Cairo overnight when supporters of Mohamed Morsi battled security forces and the ousted president's opponents, the state news agency MENA said on.                 

"A security source confirmed that security forces have succeeded in arresting 401 people provoking unrest during the clashes," MENA said.          

Protests and violence:       

Egyptian police and protesters clashed in central Cairo early on Tuesday after fights broke out between supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and locals angered when they tried to block major thoroughfares crossing the River Nile.            

The head of Egypt's emergency services said that seven people were killed and 261 wounded in Cairo when supporters of Mohamed Morsi clashed with the deposed president's opponents and security forces overnight.              

Mohamed Sultan told Reuters two people had been killed at a bridge in central Cairo and five more in the capital's Giza district.                    

The clashes were smaller and more localized than the earlier deadly unrest since Morsi was deposed by the military on July 3, and most of Cairo was unaffected.                 

Still, after a week of relative calm, scenes of running street battles close to the Egyptian Museum, one of the country's main tourist attractions, may raise further concerns about stability in the Arab world's most populous country.                   

Military helicopters hovered overhead and police vans were brought in to quell the trouble, but when that didn't work, dozens of riot police moved in. Medics treated men with deep gashes to their eyes and faces nearby.      

Egypt has become increasingly polarized by the crisis, but one thing the two sides share is a deep mistrust of the United States and its perceived role in the unrest.


REUTERS/AP

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