The Tamarod movement, which was a leading force in Egypt's protest movement, urged Egyptians to refuse US aid and call on the Egyptian government to renege on the 1979 Camp David Accords , signed with Israel.

The campaign has thus far been supported by 300,000 who signed a petition calling to cancel the peace treaty with "the Israeli entity," and call of US aid to Egypt.

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The movement's online petition, on which some 300,000 citizens signed, states: "Following the United States' blatant and repeated interference in Egypt's affairs and the US' support of terror groups, I, an Egyptian citizen, demand that the Egyptian regime hold a referendum on two counts: First, the refusal to US aid, and second, the annulment of peace accords between Egypt and the Israeli entity, including a rephrasing of security agreements so as ensure Egypt's right to secure its border."

According to the movement, the accord's provisions, as well as Israel and international peacekeeping forces present in the Sinai Peninsula, prevent Egypt from dispatching additional forces into Sinai, thus hindering their ability to halt terrorist activity in the region.

An Israeli official said Thursday that Israeli cabinet currently opts for staying "on the sideline as far as Cairo goes – this is an internal Egyptian matter.

"Our interest is focused on the Sinai Peninsula, where global jihad operatives are. What's happening in Egypt is troubling, but it's internal," the source added.

Nonetheless, the source noted that Israel was considering all possible scenarios, including another regime shift. "No one knows what's going to happen. It's impossible to analyze."

Obama on Egypt, Thursday (Video: Reuters) (רויטרס)

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US President Barack Obama's Thursday speech may have triggered a stronger opposition to US aid among Egyptians, as the US president condemned the violence and said the US had decided to cancel US-Egypt military exercises scheduled for next month.

According to the Tamarod group, the call to stop US aid results from what they perceive as American interference in Egyptian policies.

"I know it's tempting inside of Egypt to blame the United States or the West or some other outside actor for what's gone wrong," Obama said Thursday. "We've been blamed by supporters of Morsi. We've been blamed by the other side, as if we are supporters of Morsi."

Tamarod, meaning "rebellion" in Arabic, was founded with the aim to call for the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi and was one of the driving forces behind the July 2013 protests which culminated in Morsi's ouster.

Hundreds of people have been killed in political violence this week in clashes between security forces and the Muslim Brotherhood.

'Go to hell'

"Don't lecture us on how to deal with the Brotherhood's terrorism," Tamarod leader Mahmoud Badr told Reuters about Obama, adding "I tell you President Obama, why don't you and your small, meaningless aid go to hell?"

Badr accused Washington of "unacceptable interference in Egypt's internal affairs."

"What Egypt is passing through now is the price, a high price, of getting rid of the Brotherhood's fascist group before it takes over everything and ousts us all," Badr, 28, said.

"I did not see anything bad from the army. They did not interfere in politics and I am a witness to that," Badr noted. "I back its decisions on my own and without any instructions as I think they are right and getting us where we want."





Mahmoud Badr (Photo: Reuters)

Like army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Badr sees the Brotherhood as a terrorist group that is a threat to Egypt, which straddles the Suez Canal and whose 1979 peace treaty with Israel makes it vital to Middle East stability.

"The Brotherhood protesters are armed and attack people and places and that is why there were victims from the police in the clashes," he said.

For the next few weeks, Badr predicted "more violence and possible political assassinations" but added: "We will win over terrorism and civil war eventually."

"What happened in Egypt was a revolution and any revolution has to have victims."

Badr told Reuters he had no contact with the military since meeting Sisi on July 3 to discuss plans for a return to democracy.

"My role now is to act as a pressure group by observing the political transition and be ready to interfere if things go in the wrong direction," said Badr.

Reuters, AP contributed to this report

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