'Stop the war'

President Mubarak strongly condemns the Israeli aggression against Gaza and reiterates Egypt's full backing for the Palestinian cause

---

President Hosni Mubarak

President Hosni Mubarak denounced in no uncertain terms the Israeli onslaught against the hapless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the first official statement by an Arab leader on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza taking place at Egypt's eastern doorstep. "Palestinian blood is neither cheap nor free for all," Mubarak warned. He predicted that there would be serious consequences if the aggression intensifies. However, President Mubarak admonished the leadership of Hamas for escalating tensions with Israel and displaying little or no flexibility in resolving the Palestinian crisis. "We warned our brothers in Gaza that intransigence will only prompt Israeli aggression," Mubarak said in his address to the nation.

The President also called for the immediate and unconditional halt of the Israeli aggression against Gaza. He said that the hands of the Israeli leaders are blood-stained and urged the Palestinians to close ranks and unite. He stressed that Egypt's support for the Palestinian cause is a cornerstone of its foreign policy and cannot be doubted, in clear reference to the detractors of Egypt's Palestinian policy.

Mubarak also emphasised that Egypt totally rejects the conspiracy designed to divide the Palestinians of the West Bank from those in Gaza. Egypt backs Palestinian unity.

Mubarak in his speech referred to the considerable humanitarian relief donated by Egypt to the Palestinians. "It is important to note that Mubarak did not malign Hamas and that he put [the rival] Hamas and the Palestinian Authority on an equal footing," Diaa Rashwan of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Egypt has been criticised for siding with the Palestinian Authority against Hamas. Rashwan applauded Mubarak for shifting the focus on supporting the Palestinians on humanitarian grounds, thereby playing down Egypt's possible role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel.

Distinguished columnist Salama Ahmed Salama told the Weekly that Mubarak's statement was timely, but that it did not go far enough. "President Mubarak noted that the Israeli aggression is bound to divide the ranks of the Palestinians further, indeed, to split Palestine into two: the West Bank and Gaza. However, Mubarak did not explain how. His was basically a reiteration of the Egyptian position and he ignored the deluge of criticism directed at Egypt because of its refusal to reopen the Rafah crossing.