Kenyan Police check the site of an attack at the Paradise Hotel

By Khaled Hanafi, IOL Staff

CAIRO, November 28 (IslamOnline) – The Mombasa operation sends a strong message to the Israeli entity that its interests in the African continent are at stake, said an Egyptian expert in African affairs.

The operation targeted a country which acts as the main base of the Israeli intelligence (Mossad)'s spy operations in the Horn of Africa countries and facilitates diamonds smuggling in the Great Lakes region through collaboration with some rebel movements, said the expert.

Kenya is Israel's gateway to Africa and its importance to the Jewish state has historical roots, especially that the founder of the Zionist movement Theodore Herzl had chosen Kenya as a national home for Jews, he added.

Kenya's relations with Israel date back to the time of the independence of Kenya at the hands of a pro-Western leader who was known for his close ties with the Israel.

This helped Israelis penetrate all activities in Kenya, said the analyst.

Israelis are very active in all fields in Kenya and occupy highly influential economic posts, controlling business, exchange, farms and service projects, said the African affairs expert.

He cited the obvious impact of Israeli experts and advisors on the Kenyan army, which is equipped with Israeli-made weapons, especially aircraft, gunboats, artillery and communication equipment.

The expert asserted that Kenya is the passage to Israeli economic influence in Africa where three thousand Israeli families own major firms and control Kenyan economy.

Several other Israeli companies also control agricultural crops like cocoa , cotton, rubber and coffee beans and export them to Israel, he said.

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