The measure allows
authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people's homes. It
needs to be approved by parliament before it is implemented.
So-called Islamic State
(IS) said it was behind the blasts in Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday.
The group has targeted
Copts in Egypt recently and warns of more attacks.
Mr. Sisi made a defiant
speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defense council
to discuss the explosions.
He warned that the war
against the jihadists would be "long and painful", and said that the
state of emergency would come into force after all "legal and constitution
steps" were taken. The majority in parliament backs Mr. Sisi.
The president had earlier
ordered the deployment of the military across the country to protect
"vital and important infrastructure".
The attacks coincided with
one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, marking the triumphal entry
of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
IS said that two suicide
bombers carried out the blasts. One targeted St George's Coptic Church in the
northern city of Tanta, where 27 people were killed, the health ministry said.
Hours later, police stopped
the bomber from entering the St Mark's Coptic Church in Alexandria, also in the
north. He detonated his explosives outside, leaving 17 dead, including several
police officers.
"Crusaders and their
apostate allies should know the bill between us and them is very big and they
will pay it with rivers of blood from their children, god willing. Wait for us,
for we will wait for you," the jihadist group said in a statement quoted
by Reuters news agency.
Copts in
Egypt: Recent developments
- December
2016: 25 people died
when a bomb exploded at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo during a service. IS
said it was behind the attack
- February
2016:
A court sentenced three
Christian teenagers to five years in prison for insulting Islam. They
had appeared in a video, apparently mocking Muslim prayers, but claimed
they had been mocking IS following a number of beheadings
- April 2013: Two people were killed outside St Mark's cathedral in Cairo when people mourning the death of four Coptic Christians killed in religious violence clashed with local residents
The blasts came weeks
before an expected visit by Pope Francis intended to show support for the
country's Christians, who make up about 10% of Egypt's population and have long
complained of being vulnerable and marginalized.
This sense of
precariousness has only increased in recent years, with the rise of violent
jihadism in parts of Egypt, the BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.
The move by Mr. Sisi is
likely to raise concerns among human rights activists, observers say. The
president, a former army chief, has been criticized by local and international
groups for severe restrictions on civil and political rights in Egypt.
Human
Rights Watch says tens of thousands of people have been arrested in a
crackdown on dissent, and that security forces have committed flagrant abuses,
including torture, enforced disappearances and likely extrajudicial executions.
What
is the Coptic Christian faith?
The Coptic Orthodox Church
is the main Christian Church in Egypt. While most Copts live in Egypt, the
Church has about a million members outside the country.
Copts believe that their
Church dates back to around 50 AD, when the Apostle Mark is said to have
visited Egypt. Mark is regarded as the first Pope of Alexandria - the head of
their church.
This makes it one of the
earliest Christian groups outside the Holy Land.
The Church separated from
other Christian denominations at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) in a dispute
over the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ.
The early Church suffered
persecution under the Roman Empire, and there were intermittent persecutions
after Egypt became a Muslim country. Many believe that continues to this day.
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