Jewish Businessman Gunned Down In Egypt In Suspected Terror Killing
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, a Canadian Jewish businessman was murdered in the city of Alexandria, Egypt when an unknown gunman approached his car and shot him at point-blank range.
A shadowy terrorist organization has claimed responsibility as 'retaliation' for Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. Further the group calling itself "Vanguard of Liberation Group for Martyr Mohamed Salah" (after the Egyptian police officer who killed three IDF troops in a mid-2023 border shooting) is claiming that the victim, identified as Ziv Kipper, was a "Mossad agent".
"Wait for the next," the unknown organization posted in an internet message. "Shalom from the children of Gaza." The group also reportedly posted a video and image of the killing [warning: graphic]. However Egypt's Interior Ministry has been quick to downplay the incident, and instead of 'terrorism' Egyptian security sources have chosen to initially call the killing a robbery.
According to Reuters, "The group posted a photo purporting to show Kipper being shot in his car." But "Egyptian security sources said they had no information on the existence of the group or whether it had been involved in the incident."
The Egyptian government is typically very sensitive when it comes to claims of terrorism targeting Westerners and foreigners, given also historic terror incidents have at times decimated its crucial tourism industry. Egypt has motive to want to downplay or cover-up the circumstances of the attack:
The supposed organization said that it had targeted the businessman over Israeli operations in the Palestinian-Egyptian border town and Hamas stronghold of Rafah. The Vanguard claimed that the businessman, who was the CEO of an Egyptian frozen fruits and vegetables export business, had used his commercial activities as a cover for Israeli intelligence operations.
The group said that the alleged act of terrorism was a continuation of the historical Egyptian fight against Israel, and decried the current Egyptian leadership as puppets.
The man had Israeli citizenship along with Canadian citizenship, according to BBC:
Neither Israel nor Egypt have yet officially named the man who was killed. However, the Israeli foreign ministry confirmed that the victim was a businessman with dual Canadian-Israeli citizenship.
It added that the Israeli embassy in Cairo was in contact with the Egyptian authorities. Egypt's interior ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement that the man had been "residing permanently" in the country.
This is also a sensitive time where Hamas-Israel truce talks have continued in Cairo, via mediators, but the talks have ultimately shown little progress or results, at a moment Israel is poised to progress with its ground offensive on Rafah.
Unconfirmed images of the victim and his identity have been widely circulating even as respective governments remain quiet:
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 7, 2024
An Egyptian terror group murdered Ziv Kiefer, a Israeli-Canadian businessman in an antisemitic attack in Alexandria today
🇨🇦🇮🇱🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/fXhDsH1uPo
If indeed this tragic killing in Alexandria was an act of anti-Jewish terrorism by shadowy Islamic extremists, it's a very dangerous precedent and points to the possibility of more such terror acts to come against Jews or possibly foreign travelers - especially if the Rafah operation proceeds and escalates.