EGYPT - Dec 29 - Opposition Says Mubarak Blessed Israeli Attacks

APS Diplomat Recorder, Dec 31, 2009

Egyptian opposition has reacted furiously to Israel's deadly airstrikes on Gaza, and accused the government of President Hosni Mubarak of blessing the raids to weaken Hamas. "The decision to strike at Gaza was made in Cairo following talks between Ahmad Abul Geit [Egypt's FM] and Israeli FM Tzipi Livni", said Islamist MP Hussain Ebrahim.

Livni visited Cairo on Thursday, where she vowed to stop Hamas from firing rockets at Israeli towns. "The threats declared by Livni in Cairo against our Palestinian brethren in Gaza are a stigma for the Egyptian regime", said Sayed Abdul Gani, the secretary General of the Nasserist Lawyers. "These statements confirm that this regime is a partner in the aggression on Gaza", he told Gulf News. Egypt, which was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, summoned the Israeli ambassador "to express total rejection of aggression on Gaza and demand an immediate halt" to the attacks. Meanwhile, Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to allow the injured Palestinians to be treated in Egypt. Egyptian officials, however, implicitly blamed Hamas for the escalation of violence. "The non-response of the Israeli and Palestinian sides to the Egyptian efforts will not affect [Egypt's] resolve to continue these efforts", a presidential statement said. Hamas has been the target of scathing criticisms in Egypt's state-run media over recent weeks. Egypt has been unsuccessfully trying to renew an Israeli-Hamas truce, which expired on December 19.