Epstein Secrets

s' preferred candidate. Preliminary results published in the state-run Ahram Online news site showed that, with nearly 3.5 million ballots counted, Morsi was ahead with almost 55 percent of the vote. About 50 million Egyptians were eligible to cast ballots. Final results are expected Thursday. But a

of the first round confirmed this dichotomy, with Egyptians left to choose between General Ahmed Shafiq, a long-time protégé of Hosni Mubarak, and Mohamed Morsi, a protégé of the Brotherhood's strongman Khayrat Elshater. If anything, this "choice" is the incarnation of the doctrine that served Mr Mubarak fo

r said, "See, all of these fingers are on the same hand. Some are long, some are stout. But when we grasp something, it is together." Still it was Zahar who was seen as having broken ranks over the last year with his public and personal attacks on Meshaal for pursuing the reconciliation deal and fai

me see as an indirect acceptance of Israel's existence even though Hamas officially refuses to recognize Israel. In an interview at his Gaza home, Zahar, once viewed by the West as a moderate, acknowledged the debate within Hamas, but said the divisions were being exaggerated and exploited by its en

y takeover as a coup, security officials said. Police abuses and politicized prosecutions are hardly new in Egypt, and they did not stop under Mr. Morsi. But since the military takeover last month, some rights activists say, the authorities are acting with a sense of impunity exceeding even the per

ic backlash against what they called a coup could yet lead to the Brotherhood's resurgence. "Our policy right now is to keep the people quiet," Mr. Zahar said. "We have to keep our people highly immunized against the extreme attitude." Mr. el-Zaza, the finance minister, declined to say what spending

hree senior Hamas leaders — Ziad el-Zaza, the finance minister and deputy prime minister; Ghazi Hamad, who handles foreign affairs; and Mahmoud al- Zahar, a hard-liner — said they were taking a "wait and see" EFTA_R1_00441198 EFTA01964450 approach to Egypt, hoping that perhaps the tide could turn t

d political outcome. It was clearly intended to intimidate anyone who dares to challenge the military or shows sympathy for the Brotherhood and Mr. Morsi, who was elected president in 2012 in a democratic election and then ousted in a military coup last summer. According to legal experts, the verdict

al-Attiyah visited Tehran for that purpose. The source added that last week, Iran gave the green light for Meshaal's visit after contacts between Zahar and Marwan Issa, a senior leader in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing. This long overdue visit will culminate in Meshaal meeting