The Egyptian ambassador: we will not allow a new assault on Gaza

The Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority, Dr Yasser Othman, affirmed that his country will not allow a new Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip to take place, along the lines of the one that occurred at the end of 2008, pointing out that his country is moving towards supporting the Palestinian cause, as part of Egypt's foreign policy after the revolution of last 25 January, which toppled the regime of the deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

These statements of his came from the city of Ramallah during a seminar held using “videoconference”, organised on Thursday 21-7-2011 by the “Pal-Think” for Strategic Studies institution in cooperation with the German “Friedrich Ebert” foundation, in Gaza City.

Othman said: “Egypt is living through a transitional stage full of changes and difficulties, which is natural after a great revolution such as the Egyptian revolution, which changed the concepts and patterns of thinking of the Egyptian people and their perception, and this has certainly been reflected in Egyptian foreign policy”.

He added: “We now face, unfortunately, an intransigent Israeli government that grows more bigoted and aggressive and refuses to respond to the demands of peace (..) With regard to some details, we found that there were Israeli intentions to escalate against Gaza, and Egypt exerted its efforts to deny (Israel) the opportunity to repeat a new aggression; likewise our efforts continue to end the blockade on the Strip and not merely to ease it, and to support the Palestinian efforts regarding the file of recognition of the Palestinian state, in addition to the files of the city of Jerusalem and of reconciliation”.

Othman explained that the most important results of the Egyptian revolution for Egypt's foreign policies are summed up in two points: the first that it is the Egyptian people who make these policies, which have come to spring from their aspirations and their will; and the other that Egyptian foreign policy has become immune to the pressures and interventions it may face from abroad, especially with regard to the file of the Palestinian cause.

He went on to say: “Our policy now rests on caring for Egyptian interests and Egypt's national obligations, all of them springing from the 25 January revolution, all of whose demands called for affirming Egypt's Arab depth and its obligations towards issues that directly touch its national interests, such as the issue of Sudan and the Palestinian cause, and the file of the Nile basin countries and what relates to its share of its waters”.

He also pointed out that Egyptian foreign policy faces a “difficult reality” owing to the emergence of enormous changes in the Arab region: the first the continuation of the spring of Arab revolutions whose results have not yet been settled in many Arab countries, particularly in Libya, which is considered Egypt's “largest neighbour”, as well as the division of the Sudanese state into two halves.

Reconciliation and the state
On the file of reconciliation, Ambassador Othman said: “We know that there is a feeling of frustration among wide sectors of the Palestinian people because of the delay in implementing the reconciliation agreement, but the matter is not at all easy as some imagine, because matters will not be resolved by signing the agreement but through continuous examination and consultations in order to unify points of view and settle the thorny files that impede the implementation of reconciliation on the ground, without excluding any Palestinian party whatsoever”.

The Egyptian ambassador spoke about the necessity of moving the file of the Palestine cause from the American administration to the United Nations in order to obtain international recognition of the Palestinian state, stressing the importance of activating the role of the League of Arab States in this regard.

As for the file of the Rafah crossing, the ambassador commented: “There are many difficulties facing us with regard to the Rafah crossing, whose problems come down to two main points: increasing the numbers of travellers through it, and re-sifting the blacklists held by the Egyptian security services”.

He then went on to say: “Egypt has faced enormous external pressures because of its opening of the crossing, and has paid a high price for opening it; it also still suffers from several problems that impede the solution of its problem, among them the unsettled security situation in the northern Sinai region, and the small number of security personnel at the crossing causes a severe shortfall in the efficiency of the work, especially in the absence of the State Security apparatus, which was the principal player in it. Despite all the challenges, we remain determined to continue opening the crossing to serve the citizens of Gaza”.

He noted that many contacts have taken place between the Palestinian and Egyptian sides in order to solve the crisis of the Rafah crossing and increase the numbers of travellers, especially with the arrival of the summer seasons, the month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr, which are seasons that usually witness great pressure from travellers wishing to visit their relatives in the Strip, or to travel to perform the Umrah rites during the holy month.

An Israeli plan
In another context, the Egyptian ambassador pointed to the existence of an Israeli plan to “throw the Gaza Strip into Egypt's lap”, something the Egyptian leadership rejects entirely and in detail, affirming at the same time that the opening of the Rafah crossing, the improvement of the conditions of travellers through it and Egypt's ongoing efforts to break the siege on Gaza will continue, without allowing the aforementioned Israeli plan to come about.