Need to heal

In Rafah, Gamal Mubarak tells Assem El-Kersh that Israel's military might will not guarantee its security

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In support of the Palestinians under attack in Gaza, a high-level delegation of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) visited Rafah and Arish cities on Tuesday, to tour hospitals treating scores of Palestinians injured in the attacks and deliver medical aid to the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza.

"We are wholeheartedly with the Palestinian cause. But Egypt's security is above all else. And nobody will drive us into the unknown," said Safwat El-Sherif, secretary-general of the NDP, during a rally held a few kilometres from the borderline with Gaza.

"Israel should abide by an immediate ceasefire, implement the UN Security Council resolution and apply the Egyptian initiative, for the world has become fed up with Israel's state terrorism," El-Sherif noted.

El-Sherif, who headed an aid convoy with 20 trucks packed with 8,000 tonnes of foodstuff and 280 tonnes of medicine in addition to eight highly-equipped ambulances, said that other convoys funded by donations from NDP members will continue going to Gaza.

Gamal Mubarak, chairman of the NDP's Policies Committee, lashed out at Israel for its continued aggression against the helpless population of Gaza. He said bombing and military might will never provide security for the Israelis. "Only the establishment of a Palestinian state and a full withdrawal from the occupied territories will grant Israel security."

Gamal Mubarak told Al-Ahram Weekly that all efforts now should focus on working for a quick end of the aggression, the atrocities and protecting civilians. "The Palestinian cause has become, for many years now, a hostage of conflicting agendas where many parties try to settle scores. The Palestinians are the ones who pay the price," he said.

Criticising unnamed parties for trying to "spoil" the Egyptian plan to solve the crisis and stop the fighting, he stressed that Egypt doesn't have any hidden agendas whether in Palestine, Darfur or Lebanon.

Asked about the timing of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Gamal Mubarak said that Israel purposely exploited the (political) vacuum in Washington where an outgoing administration is ending its tenure and an incoming administration is unable to intervene yet. "With developments so pressing in Gaza, Obama's team will have to work on the issue from day one."

The most serious cause of the crisis, he added, is that the arena is full of conflicting parties with so many contradictory priorities, thus confounding the split between the Palestinians. "The division is too deep to allow them to negotiate as one team or resist or even speak in one voice."

Gamal Mubarak called on all parties who want the good of Palestinians to try and end the bloodshed and then move forward to heal the rift among the Palestinians and revive efforts to establish an independent state for the Palestinians. "It is a pity that instead of confronting the grave situation, the Arab world is busy with infighting and trading accusations."