Egypt’s Steel Wall: An Attempt to Placate the U.S.?

A Middle Eastern country is building a massive thick steel wall as a barrier between themselves and a Palestinian regime.

The country is being condemned for its actions across the Arab world, denounced by Islamist figures like Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and facing angry demonstrations at its embassies around the world.

Signs with the president’s face daubed with a Star of David are waved, and furious slogans are chanted.

The new construction project, written about critically in the world press as “choking” Gaza, has been dubbed the “iron wall” and the “wall of shame.”

Sound familiar? Nothing new? In fact, the situation is very new. The country that is being berated and condemned is not Israel.

The wall is being build by the Egyptian government to separate territory controlled by Egypt and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel is routinely charged with inhumanely and heartlessly fencing off Palestinian Gazans in a “prison,” despite the fact that Egypt’s official crossing to Gaza is also clamped shut, with the exception of a few days each month.

But with the construction of this new wall, Egypt is taking some powerful hits from within the Arab world.

The wall being constructed is designed to stop the flow of smuggling between Egypt and Gaza through the border town of Rafah, an underground economy that is not limited to — but certainly includes — major weaponry and ammunition being stockpiled for terrorist attacks and to help Hamas rearm for the next war between Gaza and Israel.

Along with the weaponry brought in to replace the stockpiles decimated in Operation Cast Lead, millions of dollars worth of other commerce flows through the tunnels on a daily basis. Everything from food, to gasoline, to machinery, to farm animals. The tunnels are a major source of revenue for Hamas, which charges a premium for the construction and use of the tunnels and puts a tariff on any goods that are brought in.

The planned 10 kilometer-long wall will include steel sheets that will reach 60 meters underground — an attempt to cut off the tunnels and the commerce that flourishes there. In addition to weaponry, the tunnels are also a conduit for terrorists, both reasons that the tunnels themselves were targeted in Operation Cast Lead.

Construction of the wall began in early December, with the Egyptian government doing its best to keep news of it quiet for as long as possible. By mid-December, it became impossible to hide such a massive project, and news of the construction broke and began to spread. Even as reports began appearing in the media, Egypt refused to acknowledge its existence.

An AP article dramatically described the construction in the same judgmental terms normally reserved for accounts of Israel’s building of barriers:

A jackhammer pounded large steel beams side by side into the sandy soil on the Egyptian side of Gaza’s border, putting in place an underground wall that could shift the balance of power in this volatile area. Once completed, the steel barrier would cut off blockaded Gaza’s last lifeline.

In the wake of the media attention, demonstrations condemning the Egyptian action have ensued, beginning in Jordan, where an organization of unions and professional associations protested construction of the wall.

Some 150 people gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman earlier this month and burned photos of President Hosni Mubarak. The photos depict Mubarak with a Star of David stamped on his forehead.

More at Pajamas Media

Egyptian Christians Refuse to Open Stores After Muslim Riot

Egyptian Christian shop owners in the eastern town of Farshoot where a Muslim riot recently occurred refused to reopen their stores until the government compensated them for damages.

Copts – the Christian community in Egypt – said they will not be coerced into overlooking the mass riot that left reportedly 65 Christian shops damaged, as reported by Assyrian International News Agency on Sunday. Instead, they are uniting to make authorities recognize what happened and punish perpetrators.

Authorities, however, reportedly are putting pressure on the Coptic Church in Nag Hammadi, which is under the same governorate as Farshoot, to tell the victims to accept extrajudicial reconciliation and reopen their businesses without compensation. Police in Farshoot are also reportedly refusing to issue police reports to victims, forcing them to travel 37 miles away to make a report with the Attorney General in Qena, the capital of the governorate. Authorities have also not carried out an estimated loss investigation despite requests the church has made for a week.

“There will be no reconciliation before full financial compensation has been paid to the Coptic victims, and the criminals are brought to justice, so that safety and security can be restored to the district,” said Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammadi Diocese, according to AINA.

Kirollos told activist Wagih Yacoub of the Middle East Christian Association that the victims have no money to clean up, restock items and reopen their stores.

Reports estimate that 10 pharmacies and 55 shops and businesses in Farshoot and several nearby villages were vandalized, torched or damaged during the few days of riots which began on Nov. 21. In Farshoot alone, about 80 percent of Coptic businesses were destroyed, which translates to about over $1 million in damages.

The riot, which drew hundreds of angry Muslims, was due to a rumor that a Coptic young man kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old Muslim girl.

However, an investigating officer told a Farshoot pastor that the girl said she was only sure that her attacker wore a black jacket and nothing else.

Moreover, the girl’s family had agreed with the church to wait for a police investigation and did not incite or join in with the mob that burned and looted Coptic-owned properties.

Christian business owners in Farshoot whose shops were undamaged have closed their businesses in solidarity with fellow Coptic business owners whose stores were damaged.

Bishop Kirollos has sent letters about the violence in Farshoot to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Egypt’s People’s Assembly and the Shura Council asking for quick financial compensation for the Coptic victims.

Christian Post

Israel's Prime Minister Traveling to Egypt for Peace Talks

Israel's prime minister says he is traveling to Egypt this week to meet with President Hosni Mubarak.

The declared objective of Tuesday's trip is to discuss Mideast peacemaking.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also expected to discuss negotiations to swap hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants in 2006.

Egypt and Germany have been mediating those talks.

Through the mediators, Israel has forwarded its latest proposal to Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers. They have not responded.

A Netanyahu ally quoted the Israeli leader as telling Cabinet ministers that "it's not clear there will be a deal."

Netanyahu said the deadly shooting of an Israeli settler last week highlighted the risks of a deal.

FoxNews

Egypt's metal wall could spark conflict with Hamas

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Egypt's decision to build an underground metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip has triggered a crisis between Cairo and Hamas.

Hamas leaders believe that the wall is being constructed as part of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's desire to punish the Islamist movement for its refusal to sign an Egyptian-engineered "reconciliation accord" with Fatah several weeks ago.

Moreover, Hamas believes that Mubarak is also seeking "revenge" because the movement has preferred German mediation to Egyptian involvement in the negotiations with Israel over the release of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.

In both cases, Mubarak felt humiliated by Hamas's actions.

In assuming the role of mediator between Hamas and Fatah, Mubarak was hoping to succeed where other Arabs, specifically the Saudis, Yeminis and Qataris, had failed.

Just when the two sides appeared to be on the verge of signing a "reconciliation agreement" under the auspices of the Egyptians last October, Hamas bolted. Hamas justified its decision to stay away from the signing ceremony by citing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's failure to support a resolution at the United Nations in favor of the Goldstone Report into Operation Cast Lead.

Hamas's decision not to sign the accord with Fatah was seen by Palestinians and Egyptians as a severe blow to Mubarak's personal prestige and Egypt's standing in the Arab world. Mubarak was hoping that the agreement would help Egypt restore its long-lost status as one of the most influential Arab countries.

On the personal level, he was hoping that success in resolving the Hamas-Fatah crisis would reaffirm his standing as a powerful and historic leader, thus improving the prospects of his son, Jamal, to succeed him.

Similarly, Mubarak was hoping that a prisoner-exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel would be achieved through Egyptian mediation. But in recent weeks he has been forced to see Hamas dump Egyptian negotiators in favor of German security officials.

Some Hamas representatives have openly chastised Mubarak's negotiators for being "biased" in favor of Israel. In other words, Hamas is telling the world that it trusts the Germans more than it trusts its Muslim brothers in Egypt.

Relations between Hamas and Cairo have been tense ever since the movement took full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Since then, the Egyptians have done almost everything to isolate and weaken the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. This includes the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing and other restrictions imposed by Egyptian authorities.

The Egyptians' main concern is that Hamas would "export" its radical ideology to Egypt.

Reports about increased cooperation between Hamas militiamen and Egyptian smugglers and members of other Islamic fundamentalist groups in Sinai have prompted the Egyptian security forces to beef up their presence in the area.

Tensions between Hamas and Cairo reached their peak last month with the death of a Hamas operative in an Egyptian prison. The victim was the brother of Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Hamas rushed to accuse the Egyptian General Intelligence Service of torturing the man to death. The allegation was broadcast on many Arab satellite TV stations, seriously embarrassing Mubarak, whose spokesmen have since been struggling to convince Arab and Muslim viewers that the Hamas man died of natural causes.

Over the past few days, Hamas militiamen have opened fire several times on Egyptian border policemen and laborers who are involved in the construction of the metal wall. The shooting incidents have also escalated tensions between the Hamas leadership and Cairo.

An all-out confrontation between Hamas and Egypt will undoubtedly undermine Mubarak, because it will make him appear as if he's helping Israel and the US in their war against the movement. A confrontation will also send the message that Mubarak is also involved in the "siege" on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, on the other hand, stands to win from a standoff with a regime that is regarded by many Arabs and Muslims as a puppet in the hands of the Israelis and Americans.

And any victory for Hamas is also a victory for Damascus and Teheran.

JPost

Will Egypt Go the Way of Iran?

The current U.S. administration is supporting Egypt in the same way that Iran under the shah was backed by the U.S. in the 1970s — as a regional power supposedly doing its bidding. U.S. administrations, unfortunately, have taken a dim view of internalizing historical lessons, and it may prove particularly perilous with the Obama administration.

The improbable fall of the shah, and his replacement by the radical, anti-American, messianic Islamic Republic led by ayatollahs, could very well occur in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak’s 28-year martial-law rule is similar to that of the shah’s, albeit the shah’s treatment of his people was somewhat more moderate. And the shah at least strove to build a middle class by fostering economic growth and expanding educational opportunities to average Iranians.

As with the shah, Mubarak is receiving some of the most sophisticated offensive arms in the U.S. arsenal. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, large quantities of F-16 fighter aircrafts, M1A1 heavy tanks, Apache helicopters, E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning spy planes, as well as an array of missiles including the Patriot missiles, shoulder-borne TOW and Stinger missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, air-to-surface and surface-to-surface Hellfire missiles, Maverick air-to-surface guided missiles, and cluster bombs have been delivered to Egypt by the U.S. (Most of these Israel receives as well.) Egypt receives about $2.1 billion annually courtesy of U.S. taxpayers (in 1990 the U.S. forgave $7.1 billion in past Egyptian military debt).

Egypt’s name, according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists, can be found on the CIA’s list of known proliferators, along with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.

On the eve of the Iranian Islamic revolution, few pundits would have predicted the demise of the shah. The influx of rural workers to the cities, especially Tehran, along with the inability of educated young men and women to find suitable employment became a time bomb which Ayatollah Khomeini exploited.

The Egyptian internal security forces are as brutal as the Iranian SAVAK, and Egypt’s exploding population (83 million at last count), high unemployment, low wages, rampant corruption, and nepotism (Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son, is being groomed to succeed the 81-year-old Hosni Mubarak) makes Egypt like Iran in 1979 — ready for an explosion.

The Muslim Brotherhood, with its largest following in Egypt, is waiting in the wings — and it may yet proclaim Egypt as the next Islamic republic. Opposition to Mubarak’s arbitrary rule and the possibility of Gamal Mubarak’s succession is a prescription for a combustible political situation.

More at Pajamas Media

France returns stolen Louvre relics to Egypt

French President Nicolas Sarkozy handed his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak a stolen ancient relic on Monday, ending a row between France and Egypt over artifacts taken from a Luxor tomb.

"Thank you very much," Mubarak said as Sarkozy presented the painted wall fragment to him, following a formal lunch at the Elysee presidential palace.

The small relic is one of five "steles" that were chipped off a wall painting in the ancient Egyptian tomb of Tetiky, dating back some 3,000 years to the Nile kingdom's 18th dynasty.

Louvre curators purchased the artifacts in 2000 and 2003 and kept them in storage at the museum.

Egypt demanded the return of the stolen fragments in October and broke off relations with the Louvre.

Afterwards, France agreed to hand back the works, which are from Luxor's Valley of the Kings.

"France is particularly committed to fighting the illegal trafficking of works of art," Sarkozy said, in a statement.

The other four artifacts were to be given to the Egyptian embassy in Paris during Mubarak's visit to Paris, French officials said.

The French president emphasized that the Louvre museum had acted in good faith when it purchased the artifacts and said that doubts were only raised in November during archaeological work at the site.

Egypt had produced photographs from the mid-1970s showing the fragments in place on the tomb's wall.

A 1972 UNESCO convention states that artifacts are the property of their country of origin and pieces smuggled out of a country must be returned.

Cairo's antiquities department, which controls access to all of Egypt's archaeological sites, had broken off ties with the Louvre and said they would be restored once the relics were returned.

Egypt is stepping up demands for the restitution of many relics including the Rosetta Stone on display in the British Museum and the bust of Queen Nefertiti in Berlin's Neues museum.

"Everything which was stolen from us should be given back," said Zawi Hawass, the current head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, in January.

Museum curators purchased four of the five fragments in 2000 from the collection of French archaeologist Gaston Maspero and a fifth piece was bought in 2003 during a public sale at the Drouot auction house.

But Hawass had said that he believed the Paris museum bought the antiquities even though its curators knew they were stolen.

"The purchase of stolen steles is a sign that some museums are prepared to encourage the destruction and theft of Egyptian antiquities," he said.

Egypt had put on hold a series of conferences organized with the museum and suspended work carried out by the Louvre on the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo.

Sarkozy said the restitution of the relics reflected the "quality of relations between the two countries and the excellent cooperation in the field of archaeology."

In 2007, France returned hairs from an ancient pharaoh that were nearly sold on the Internet by a French postal worker whose father had acquired them during the scientific examination of the royal mummy 30 years previously.

The case prompted Egyptian authorities to bar foreign scientists from examining royal mummies.

YNet

Clinton: US wants Israel settlement halt 'forever'

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the US stance toward Israeli settlement building to worried Arab allies on Wednesday, saying Washington does not accept the legitimacy of the West Bank enclaves and wants to see their construction halted "forever."

Still, she said an Israeli offer to restrain - but not halt - construction represents "positive movement forward" toward resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Clinton met for an hour with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a hastily arranged stopover in the Egyptian capital to soothe Arab concerns that Washington is backing off demands for an Israeli settlement halt.

The fears were sparked on Saturday when Clinton, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at her side in Jerusalem, praised his government's offer as unprecedented.

She has since tried to clarify the remarks, saying that the Israeli offer does not got far enough.

Still, she has indicated that the Palestinians should resume negotiations with Israel without a full settlement halt as they demand.

On Wednesday, Clinton insisted "our policy on settlement has not changed."

"We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. Ending all settlement activity current and future would be preferable," she told reporters after talks with Mubarak.

Of the Israeli offer, she said, "It is not what we would prefer because we would like to see everything ended forever."

"But it is something that I think shows at least a positive movement forward toward final status issues being addressed," she said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is sticking to his refusal to resume negotiations until Israel stops building settlements. He rejected the Israeli plan to complete 3,000 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and to continue to construct public buildings and other construction in east Jerusalem - a territory Palestinians hope will be their future capital.

After Arab criticism of her comments in Jerusalem on the Israeli plan, Clinton delayed her return to Washington after attending an international conference in Marrakech, Morocco, and flew instead to Cairo.

Read more here,,,,

Source: JPost

Southern Sudan Considers Secession From Muslim-Dominated North

Southern Sudan may secede from the Muslim-dominated north of the country in an upcoming referendum because unity has become "unattractive," the south's leader said Monday.

Salva Kiir accused the Khartoum government of never making "unity an attractive option" for the mostly Christian and animist southerners.

Sudan's savage two-decade civil war ended in a 2005 peace agreement that included a provision for a 2011 referendum for the southerners to choose if they wanted to remain in the country.

A southern decision to secede could well reignite one of Africa's worst conflicts, claiming 2 million lives.

"There is hope that Sudan may stay united if the other party is serious," Kiir told reporters after a meeting Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss Sudan's conflicts.

Kiir also accused the northern government of failing to implement fully the peace agreement including the demarcation of the oil-rich border region between the north and the south.

He said the maps should be ready next month.

The peace deal put an end to the 21-year-old civil war between the mostly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the Christian-animist south that left 2 million people dead and 4 million displaced. But the deal is plagued by distrust between the two sides and has repeatedly threatened to unravel, bringing to the two sides to the brink of war.

Under the deal, Sudan is to hold key parliamentary and presidential elections in April — the first national elections to include all of South Sudan in four decades — as well as the referendum.

In both cases, smooth elections are seen as crucial for keeping peace. But disputes have arisen between north and south over census results, which are the basis for drawing election constituencies. The two have also yet to agree on north-south borders, an already explosive issue because it also involve dividing oil and grazing rights.

The U.S. has been actively pushing the two sides to iron out their differences over the votes, considered vital to prevent a return to war.

A disagreement over how to conduct the referendum has been settled recently. But southern lawmakers are now boycotting parliament to pressure the northern government to discuss election-related laws, such as press freedom and a security bill, ahead of the vote.

In Monday's statement Kiir refused to postpone both the election and the referendum.

"So far we have agreed to hold the elections in 2010. I hope this happens."

Source: FoxNews

Hamas Chief to Cairo for Talks in Prisoner Exchange

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The leader of Hamas headed to Egypt for a rare visit Saturday, fueling some speculation of possible progress in protracted negotiations between the Islamic militant group and Israel on a prisoner swap.

Egypt has served as mediator since Hamas militants captured an Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, near Gaza in June 2006. Hamas demands the release of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel, in exchange for Schalit.

German diplomats have become involved in the negotiations in recent weeks, making 11 trips to Hamas-ruled Gaza in the past month, said Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman. German mediators have helped arrange swaps involving Israeli captives in the past, and Taha described the German effort as "serious."

However, there have been many false alarms about an imminent swap, and there were no concrete signs of progress Saturday.

Mashaal, the top Hamas leader based in Damascus, was to arrive in Cairo later Saturday, Taha said.

Hamas officials gave conflicting reports on Mashaal's mission. Some said he was only to discuss the internal Palestinian conflict with Egyptian counterparts, while others said the prisoner swap is also on the agenda.

Hamas seized Gaza by force in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to pragmatic Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaving him only in control of the West Bank. A Palestinian unity deal is seen as a prerequisite for an eventual Mideast peace agreement, but months of reconciliation talks have yielded little progress.

Read more here,,,,

Source: FoxNews

Obama: Palestinian state now, Israel's security later

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and
President Obama at the White House yesterday

By Aaron Klein | Posted: August 18

JERUSALEM – The U.S. is seeking a deal that will set the final borders of a Palestinian state immediately and negotiate other issues, such as security and water, at a later date, according to a senior Egyptian official speaking to WND.

The Egyptian official is in Washington alongside his country's president, Hosni Mubarak, who met with President Obama yesterday. The official spoke on condition his name be withheld since he was not authorized to discuss the subjects on the record yet.

The Egyptian official said Obama stressed the U.S. is applying "huge" pressure for Israel to agree to a complete freeze of Jewish construction in the strategic West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. He said the U.S. is demanding a two-year freeze, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants six months.

The Egyptian official said the Palestinian Authority is seeking to use concessions from former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as a starting point in new talks with Netanyahu.

Olmert reportedly offered the Palestinians not only 95 percent of the West Bank and peripheral eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods, but also other territories never before offered by any Israeli leader. The offer includes parts of the Israeli Negev desert as well as Beit Shean in the Jordan Valley just outside the Dead Sea.

WND reported exclusively last November that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice collected notes and documents from Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams to ensure the incoming U.S. administration would not need to start negotiations from scratch. PA sources said Rice's notes have already been used by Obama's team as the starting points for new Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Documents noting agreements during previous Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been used in subsequent talks, sometimes as starting points. According to both Israeli and PA sources, American officials took detailed notes of talks at U.S.-brokered negotiations at Camp David in 2000 and then used points of agreement on key issues, such as borders, during recent rounds of intense Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Israeli and PA sources said Rice's notes document agreements that would seek an eventual major West Bank withdrawal and would grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem.

Source: WND

What Egyptians want from Washington

By Alaa Bayoumi

Egyptians have called for political reform and media freedom at home [EPA]

Egypt is set to use its president's visit to Washington to trumpet its position as a key US ally and major regional player.

Hosni Mubarak and Barack Obama, the US president, are expected to discuss a number of regional issues including the pivotal Palestinian-Israeli peace process, Iran's nuclear programme, stabilising Iraq, and fighting armed Islamist groups throughout the Middle East.

But many ordinary Egyptians, who once cared about their country's foreign policy, may no longer be interested in such talks.

Abdullah al-Ashaal, a professor of international relations and law at the American University in Cairo, says Egyptians will tune out because they believe the meetings in Washington on Tuesday will follow "an elitist agenda that has no direct link to the ordinary Egyptian citizen".

Al-Ashal, a critic of Egyptian foreign policy who describes himself as an independent political intellectual, said: "The most important item on Mubarak's agenda in Washington is to visit the White House. The man has in the past lost hope in visiting the White House and he has been dreaming about this visit."

Mubarak has not visited the US since 2004, when the administration of George Bush, Obama's predecessor, pressed the Egyptian government on political plurality and democratisation.

Read more here,,,,

Source: Al Jazeera (English)

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader

From correspondents in Cairo | June 28

EGYPTIAN security forces have arrested a leading member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and three others in pre-dawn raids, the group says on its website.

Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a member of the Islamist group's politburo, Fathi Lashin, a former judge, Gamal Abdel Salam of the Arab doctors union, and teacher Abdel Rahman al-Gamal, were detained, the group said on Sunday.

"The arrests are part of the regime's attempt to cut the Brotherhood off from Egyptian political life," the group's number two Mohammed Habib said on the website.

He said more than 140 members had been arrested in recent weeks.

The Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition movement, is officially banned but members operate openly in the name of the group despite frequent government crackdowns.

It fielded candidates running as "independents" in the 2005 election, clinching one fifth of the seats in parliament, which is controlled by President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party.

Egypt's next legislative election is scheduled for 2010.

Source:The Australian

Islamization of Egypt: pigs' Holocaust

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMIlw7rCSc&feature=player_embedded

Egypt: 'Axis of evil tried to overthrow regime'

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
delivers a speech in Cairo.

An axis of evil which includes Iran, Syria, Qatar and Hamas has attempted to destabilize Egypt and ultimately engineer a coup against the government, state paper Al-Ahram alleged on Saturday.

In an exceptionally strong-worded article, the paper stated that the Hizbullah cell recently arrested by Egyptian authorities was not only planning to carry out terror attacks in the country, but was also set up as a basis for a larger conspiracy, one that sought to overthrow and replace the Egyptian regime.

The paper pointed fingers at various Arab states and bodies which it claimed were partners to the plot, including Iran, Syria, Qatar, Al-Jazeera TV, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Based on all the evidence collected by Egyptian security forces following the cell's apprehension, Al-Ahram stated, it was becoming clear that these organizations and nations had conspired against Egypt, using various means to undermine Egyptian rule and create chaos in the country. Read more ...

Source: Jerusalem Post
Barry Rubin

Petition for Egypt to Reassert Control Over the Gaza Strip

To: President Hosni Mubarak and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

WHEREAS perpetual crisis in the Gaza Strip is the problem that neither Palestinian nor Israeli governments are able to resolve, and

WHEREAS two decades of Egyptian control was arguably the most peaceful period in recent Gaza history;

We call on the government of Egypt to annex the Gaza Strip and declare Egyptian rule over the area.

Furthermore, we call on the United Nations to pass a resolution accepting and allowing for the occurrence of this takeover by Egypt.

Up until this point, little has worked in regard to a peaceful settlement between Israel and Gaza. This problem, if not resolved, could only escalate tensions for the future. We feel that this is the best solution for what seems to be a never-ending bad situation.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Poll: Should Egypt Control Gaza?
Poll: Which group would be the main obstacle to Egyptian annexation of Gaza?

Muslims Against Hamas. Israel isn't the only side to blame.

The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has sparked a predictable wave of protest throughout the Muslim world. (Somebody please call us the day a similar protest is held against al Qaeda's mass murder of Muslims in Iraq or Pakistan.) But theirs aren't the only voices making themselves heard on the subject of Gaza.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported this week that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had told a visiting delegation of European foreign ministers that Hamas "must not be allowed to emerge from the fighting with the upper hand." The comment was later relayed by the Europeans to Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.

We called the Egyptian embassy in Washington to confirm Mr. Mubarak's comments and never heard back. But the remark squares with the way Egypt has acted toward Hamas since the war began. It has sealed its border with the Strip to prevent an exodus of Gazans and barred all but a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter. Little wonder that Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah has called on Egyptian army officers to topple Mr. Mubarak's regime.

Mr. Mubarak has good reason to want to see Hamas humbled: As the Palestinian franchise of his own suppressed Muslim Brotherhood, it poses a direct threat to his rule. The same goes for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Sunni regimes like Saudi Arabia, which see Hamas as another Iranian proxy in the Sunni heartland. Their views, too, are being expressed sotto voce.

More impressively, an Iranian student group is pointing the finger at its own government. "Those who have armed and encouraged groups like Hamas . . . have innocent blood on their hands," read a communiqué published December 30 in an Iranian newspaper and translated by the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute. "Israel's current crimes in Gaza are strongly to be condemned -- but it is equally [important] to condemn the terror organizations that use kindergartens and hospitals as a shield against [Israeli] attacks."
The Iranian government shut down the newspaper that published these remarks the next day. We can only hope for the safety of the authors. They have shown a great deal more clarity, and courage, than the protestors on the other side.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123154855613269959.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
Source: WSJHosni Mubarak
Latest recipient of The MASH Award

UN Security Council votes for Gaza ceasefire

January 09, 2009

THE UN Security Council has voted to call for an "immediate, durable" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip leading to the "full withdrawal" of Israeli forces, but the US has abstained.

Fourteen of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the compromise resolution worked out in three days of intense bargaining involving several Arab foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

The US abstention vote cast by Dr Rice came as a surprise as diplomats indicated earlier that they expected the text to get unanimous support.

The text “stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza”.

It “calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment” and welcomes initiatives aimed at “creating and opening humanitarian corridors and other mechanisms for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid”.

Resolution 1860 also “condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism” and urged member states to intensify efforts for arrangements and guarantees in Gaza “to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the reopening of the crossing points (into Gaza)”.

It “welcomes the Egyptian initiative (the three-point truce proposal unveiled by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Tuesday) and other regional and international efforts that are under way”.

Mr Mubarak invited Israel and the Palestinians to Cairo for talks on conditions for a truce, on securing Gaza borders, reopening of its crossings and lifting the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian enclave.

The vote capped a day of high drama in which Arab ministers had threatened to press for a vote on their own draft.

US Arab ministers welcomed the adoption as they were under strong pressure from their public opinion to secure an immediate end to Israel's 13-day military onslaught in Gaza that has killed more than 760 Palestinians.

Source: The Australian

Abbas pleads with UN for Gaza help

Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas

January 07, 2009

PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas has pressed the UN Security Council to call for an "immediate and full cessation of Israeli aggression" in the Gaza Strip and for the lifting of the "suffocating siege" of the territory.

“I call on the council to take the first necessary step to save my people in Gaza: a resolution calling for an immediate full cessation of Israeli aggression,” he told the 15-member body in New York on the 11th day of an Israeli military invasion that has claimed 660 Palestinian lives in Gaza, including about 200 children, local medics say.

Israeli troops kept up their assault on Hamas fighters in Gaza today as diplomats sought to persuade Israel to end its action.

And Barack Obama finally broke his silence on the issue, saying: "The loss of civilian life in Gaza and Israel is a source of deep concern for me."

An air strike killed a Palestinian gunman and wounded three in Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood, where some of the heaviest fighting has occurred since Israeli troops invaded the crowded coastal strip on Saturday, medics said.

Clashes were continuing in Zeitun, and there were reports of air strikes on the southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah.

The latest fighting follows Israeli strikes yesterday on three UN-run schools that killed at least 48 people, taking the civilian death toll even higher and prompting growing calls for an immediate ceasefire.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply dismayed” by the strikes on the schools and called them “totally unacceptable”.

While the UN Security Council discussed the crisis in New York, Egypt's president and veteran Middle East peace mediator, Hosni Mubarak, was pushing for an immediate ceasefire.

He called on Israel and the Palestinians to discuss security on the Egypt-Gaza border, following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Egypt “invites the Israelis and Palestinians for an urgent meeting to reach arrangements and guarantees that would not allow the repeat of the current escalation,” Mr Mubarak said.

Such guarantees would include “securing the borders and ... opening of the border crossings and lifting the siege,” he said.

Mr Mubarak also said he proposed an immediate ceasefire that would allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian-Israeli talks.

Mr Sarkozy, who began a whirlwind tour of the region on Monday, said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Mr Mubarak's initiative and that “he will react soon”.

“I have very precise elements that allow me to say that an Israeli delegation will meet an Egyptian delegation to discuss the matter of security,” he said.

Mr Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the UN Security Council presidency, said a resolution on Gaza would “complicate” the task of achieving peace.

A Hamas delegation is already in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire.

Egypt brokered a six-month truce that ended on December 19. Hamas refused to renew the deal, accusing Israel of reneging on it by not relaxing the crippling blockade of Gaza it first imposed when the Islamists seized control of the territory in 2007.

Mr Olmert earlier said the “terrorist” rocket attacks and weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza must end before Israel halts its offensive on the Palestinian territory.

Mr Ban said he would travel to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories next week.

Protests against Israel have spiralled worldwide, and Al-Qa'ida deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri called on Muslims to attack Israeli and Western targets in revenge for the offensive.

Israel has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but Mr Olmert's office announced today that the Jewish state would open a “humanitarian corridor” into the territory.

“This involves opening up geographical areas for limited periods of time during which the population will be able to receive the aid and stock up,” his office said.

International Committee of the Red Cross operations director Pierre Kraehenbuehl said earlier that “there is no doubt in my mind that we are dealing with a full-blown and major crisis in humanitarian terms. The situation for the people in Gaza is extreme and traumatic.”

Source: The Australian from Agence France-Presse

Egyptian President Mubarak Says He Wants an Israeli Victory

No wonder the Iranians want him dead.

The regime-run news agency, Fars News, reported on Sunday that the Iranians were offering a million dollar reward to the individual who assassinates Hosni Mubarak. ...That was before his comments from today.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told visiting foreign ministers today that he wants Israel to defeat Hamas.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stunned visiting foreign ministers Monday when he said he wanted Israel to emerge as the winner in the current conflict in Gaza.

The European foreign ministers, headed by Karel Schwarzenberg of the Czech Republic, whose country currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency, met with Mubarak in Cairo before travelling on to Jerusalem.

The ministers met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni after arriving in Jerusalem and briefed her on their discussions with the Egyptian president.

It was at that meeting that ministers confided that Mubarak had told them 'Hamas must not be allowed to emerge from the fighting with the upper hand.'

Hamas believes Egypt is trying to broker a ceasefire and sent a delegation to the city on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meantime has told visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Israel will not honour a ceasefire imposed by the UN Security Council. It will only honour an agreement that it agrees to, the Israeli prime minister told Sarkozy.

Source: Gateway Pundit