Egyptian FM: Egypt knows captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is alive The Egyptian foreign minister expressed Egypt`s deep appreciation for the Israeli policy of restraint By Yoav Stern and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and The Associated Press - 27/12/2006 * * *
International action is necessary to provide protection in law from malevolent ridicule of creed and religious doctrines, writes Ibrahim Nafie Pforp.net correspondant in Eygpt (27/02/2006) * * *
by PforP.net correspondant in Egypt 22/02/2006 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Egypt February 21 that the United States has no right to be "arrogant" in discussions about democracy, but democracy is a basic right
The ruling party met the government to debate the ways and means of implementing President Hosni Mubarak`s presidential campaign programme (16-22 February 2006)
Mubarak: Hamas wants peace, has conditions Egypt-Israel, Politics, 2/15/2006 Egypt`s president Hosni Mubarak called in an interview with the Israeli television on the need to avoid pessimism regarding Hamas wining the elections and their position, saying Israel should show flexibility and give the Palestinians hope that the Palestinians would gain their rights. * * *
Kidnap of Egypt Diplomat - Paying the price? An Egyptian diplomat in Gaza was kidnapped and then released. Magda El-Ghitany explores the ramifications on Egyptian-Palestinian relations (16-22 February 2006)
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Mubarak to Yedioth Ahronoth: Egypt seeks push peace forward
Egypt-Palestine, Politics, 2/3/2006
Egypt`s President Hosni Mubarak asserted Friday that the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, which won the Palestinian elections wants peace. "Mubarak urged Israel to be `patient` and not to resort to provocative measures in dealing with the Palestinians, Mubarak told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth," the government noted. Mubarak said peace is a goal for all parties, saying Hamas want the Palestinian people to live in peace. Answering a question on Hamas political bureau chief Khalid Meshal`s visit to Egypt, President Mubarak said we will listen to his point of view and the views of all those who will accompany him from Gaza. Mubarak said he will be meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and a delegation from Gaza to hear their views, and to help reconcile them with other Palestinian faction views, such as Fatah, saying convergence of views may take two or three months, in which time their may not be a government formed. * * *
Thursday 2 February 2006
Cairo against punishing Palestinians
Egypt has stressed the need to leave the door open to the Middle East peace process and accepts Hamas` election victory as the choice of the Palestinians. This statement by the presidential spokesman came during a press conference after talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo yesterday. The Mubarak-Abbas talks came in the frame of continuous consultations between Egypt and the Palestinian National Authority as well as President Mubarak`s keenness to safeguard the rights of the Palestinian people, Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters. Abbas flew to Cairo on Tuesday night after discussions in Amman with Jordan`s King Abdullah II. Talks between President Mubarak and Abbas also dealt with developments since the Palestinian parliamentary elections, in which Islamic group Hamas won, and the outcome of the Quartet meeting in London, Awwad said. The two leaders reviewed the prospects of the Israeli elections due in March, Awwad added. Awwad gave no hint of a shift in the Egyptian position on Hamas` victory, which Cairo says it has accepted as the choice of the Palestinians. "Egypt`s stance is that this is democracy...This is what has resulted from free and fair elections," Awwad told reporters. "You cannot punish the Palestinian people for their democratic choice. It`s a nation which needs international support, both economically and politically," he added. Hamas stunned Israel, its allies and much of the Arab world with its overwhelming victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections last week. There is an international consensus on the necessity of reaching a just settlement to the Palestinian cause and ending the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, Awwad said. The present situation can not go on like this and it`s the duty of whoever won the Palestinian elections or wins the coming Israeli polls to deal with this consensus and work with the regional and international efforts, which aim to establish peace in the Middle East, he added. Egypt, the regional and international community as well as Israel, should help the Palestinian people, their national authority and their elected leadership, Awwad said, adding that Abbas listened to an evaluation by President Mubarak about the current situation and the prospects for its future development. Egypt is expected to be a prominent intermediary as Abbas and Hamas try to form a new government while averting the danger of foreign donors cutting off aid. Awwad was quoted by the Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying that President Mubarak had dissuaded Abbas, who was elected in separate presidential elections last year, from resigning. "President Mubarak encouraged Abu Mazen to continue to perform his functions as a legitimate elected president of the authority until his term ends in 2009," he said. Awwad also told reporters that Hamas leader Khaled Meshal would visit Egypt soon. MENA has reported that a delegation from Hamas is on its way to Cairo and then they will start a tour of Arab countries to urge them to maintain aid. Awwad said that President Mubarak has also met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who was making her first trip to Egypt since stepping into the post last month. The Israeli foreign Minister told reporters that she had "very important" talks with President Mubarak that focused on the current sensitive situation in the region. Livni said that she exchanged views with President Mubarak on a host of regional issues. "President Mubarak`s views were very useful to me," she told reporters. Later in the day, Livni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit held talks in which he agreed to visit Israel by the end of March to activate a joint Egyptian-Israeli committee. Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Abul Gheit called on the Israeli Government to rescind a decision adopted yesterday to freeze funds to the Palestinian Authority. Two million shekels (35 million dollars) were due to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority yesterday. The blocked funds essentially correspond to sales tax revenues and customs duties levied on imported products coming into the Palestinian territories and transiting Israel. Egypt does not accept punishing the Palestinian people for their choice, Abul Gheit said. He called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to work together to reach a position from which they could resume peace talks. He said that his talks with Livni had focused on the regional situation and the Egyptian-Israeli ties. Abul Gheit said he felt there was a good deal of progress in Egyptian-Israeli relations in various domains.
Egypt: African Union needs pursuing democratic, economic, social reform Egypt-Regional, Politics, 1/24/2006
Egypt`s President Hosni Mubarak said yesterday in a speech at the African Union summit being held in Sudan, read on his behalf by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, that: a better future for Africa is contingent upon containing domestic conflicts in Africa, and pursuing democratic, economic and social reform all over Africa. The summit bears the motto of "Education and Culture."
A government report said: In this context Mubarak stressed that the development of African societies should be based mainly on an advanced and strong infrastructure of education, culture and scientific research systems in order to bridge the digital and scientific gaps which are steadily increasing between developing and developed countries.
Thereby, Mubarak announced the launching of an Egyptian initiative to provide developed education by offering 200 scholarships annually over a period of four years for African youths.
President Mubarak said that Egypt was following up initiatives it had put forth in previous African summits for setting up an African center for scientific and technological research referring that building human potentials is the foundation stone for the African people`s development towards a better future.
Moreover, the Foreign Minister pointed out that Egypt would present a new proposal to the summit on establishing a center for managing disasters in the continent.
Egypt is also considering the issue raised by the Chairman of the AU Commission Alpha Oumar Konare, which is the establishment of an African TV and Radio station. This proposal was presented by Egypt before Abuja summit.
Arabnews.org
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Hamas victory redraws political map of Middle East
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah party on Thursday in Palestinian parliamentary polls, and Israel immediately ruled out talks with any government involving the Islamic militant group.
Hamas won an overwhelming majority in the 132-seat legislature, taking 76 seats to Fatah`s 43 in Wednesday`s election, the official vote count showed. It gives Hamas the power to shape and possibly even lead the next cabinet.
The landslide took even Hamas officials by surprise.
"When we took part in the elections we honestly expected to win but we did not expect to win by so much," said Osama Hamdan, the group`s representative in Lebanon.
"Sixty seats makes a winner, but winning by this large majority means the Palestinian people have given us a high level of confidence and put a heavy responsibility in our hands."
The biggest party in parliament can veto the president`s choice of prime minister. Hamas called for immediate talks among factions to discuss a new government and Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas would ask Hamas to form one.
But Fatah leaders said they wanted no part in such a coalition. Firing in the air, Fatah gunmen in GazaCity vented their anger at Hamas`s victory. They blamed Abbas and party bigwigs for the loss and called on them to resign.
In a clear message to Hamas, Abbas stressed that any government would have to follow his own program to negotiate with Israel for Palestinian statehood. The moderate Fatah leader has said he might resign if he cannot pursue a peace agenda.
U.S. President George W. Bush appealed to Abbas to stay in office and vowed Washington would not deal with an armed Palestinian group advocating Israel`s destruction. Hamas rebuffed demands to disarm and change its charter.
"Today we woke up and the sky was a different color. We have entered a new era," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, of Fatah, said after Hamas claimed victory.
Fatah loyalists clashed with triumphant Hamas supporters who briefly raised their green flags at the entrance to the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah. Fatah activists trampled on one of the banners when it was lowered. Shots were fired nearby.
In GazaCity, Fatah gunmen fired volleys in the air and demanded the resignation of Abbas and the party`s old guard. Hamas told its supporters to leave the streets to avoid clashes.
With peace talks stalled since 2000, and Israel and Hamas bitter enemies, Israel`s Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could opt for unilateral moves to determine Israel`s borders on land that the Palestinians want for a state. It has already pulled its settlers out of the Gaza Strip without negotiations.
Israel rejects talks
Olmert, who took over from Ariel Sharon after he suffered a stroke three weeks ago, said in a statement Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that included members "of an armed terror organization that calls for Israel`s destruction."
Hamas, whose support among Palestinians is based partly on its suicide bombings against Israel, geared its election campaign to public frustration over Fatah`s failure to achieve statehood and its reputation for corruption.
The Islamic group`s charity network in the impoverished Gaza Strip and in the West Bank also boosted its popularity.
"Hamas did not win because people loved Hamas, but because people were taking revenge against the past years of Fatah rule," said Adel al-Helo, 41, a Gaza shopkeeper.
Leaders of the EU, the biggest donor to the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority, said that Hamas must renounce violence and recognize Israel or risk international isolation.
In Washington, Bush said Hamas`s victory was a sign that Palestinians were unhappy with the status quo and showed democracy at work, which was positive for the Middle East.
But he stuck firmly to the U.S. view of Hamas as a terrorist group. It has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings in Israel since the latest uprising began over five years ago.
"I don`t see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform," Bush told a news conference. "You can`t be a partner in peace if ... your party has got an armed wing."
The United States is the main sponsor of the long-stalled "road map," a peace plan that charts mutual steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Fatah advocates a two-state solution to the conflict.
"I am strongly committed to implementing the political program for which I was elected," said Abbas. "And this is based on the path of negotiations and a peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel."
Commentators in the Arab world predicted that pragmatism would eventually oblige Hamas to soften its position and Israel to talk to the new Palestinian leaders.
Hamas has largely respected a truce for nearly a year.
Despite weeks of armed chaos before the poll, voting in the first parliamentary election since 1996 was orderly, with about 900 foreign observers led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter looking on. Turnout was 78 percent of the 1.3 million voters.
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30, Jan. – 2006
Hamas win Protest vote, or advent of `Islamic forces`?
"Hamas` victory is part of an Islamic awakening in all countries," one Egyptian declared cheerfully. "God`s soldiers will prevail against the will of the infidels," he added. Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group that was formed in 1987 as an excrescence of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, on Thursday won 76 out of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council and has the backing of four independent MPs. The grass-roots movement Ð with a political and a military wing Ð has an unknown number of active members. But its rallies on the streets of Palestine show that tens of thousands of supporters and sympathisers are united under its flag. Essam el-Eryan, a spokesman for Egypt`s Muslim Brotherhood, echoes this view. "The Islamic forces are coming," el-Eryan assured. "Just study the results of the polls in Islamic countries like Morocco, Indonesia, Egypt and Algeria of the last two years. "Islamic forces have overshadowed all other trends," el-Eryan told The Gazette. "Future elections in Islamic countries will witness big wins for the Islamists," which, he added, were due to the failure of secular governments. "These governments imposed themselves on the rules," he said. "They have been unable to achieve the least of their citizens` dreams. I expect Christians in all Islamic countries to cooperate with the Islamic forces for the benefit of all." Mohamed Bassiouni, a former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, disagrees, saying that Hamas` victory is not a true reflection of its popularity. Rather, the group`s election triumph is the result of what he terms an "attitude of protest". "The Palestinian electorate did not vote for Hamas because it is the best option," Bassiouni said. "On the contrary, most Palestinians voted for Hamas in protest against the failure of Palestinian government and its Fatah members." Bassiouni added that rumours of corruption in the Palestinian government spread like wildfire during the last few months. This might have influenced Palestinian voters to put their mark by Hamas. "Will Hamas, now in the driving seat, be able to form a government to solve the problems of the Palestinian people?" Bassiouni wondered. "Being in the opposition is a thousand times easier than acting as a responsible government." Bassiouni said that the chips are down for Hamas as the US and the European Union (EU) are threatening to cut aid for the Palestinians. The US, which gives the Palestinian National Authority $400m in aid every year, has said it would halt these funds unless the Islamist group renounces violence and stops calling for the destruction of Israel. For its part, the Israeli government is pessimistic about a Hamas-led government. Acting Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said Israel could not accept a situation in which Hamas, in its present form as a terror group calling for the destruction of the Jewish state, will be part of the Palestinian Authority without disarming. He ruled out the idea of holding negotiations with a government that "does not stick to its most basic obligations of fighting terror". However, Bassiouni thinks Hamas has changed its ideology. "It`s not only about financial aid, it`s about political aid as well," Bassiouni said. "If Hamas insists on its antagonistic policies towards Israel it would be losing the political support the EU and the US might provide, apart from the customs dues and taxes money Israel might withhold from the PA," But he does not think that Hamas will be able to adjust its ideology alone. "Hamas needs help from Fatah and it has to show goodwill first. Otherwise, Hamas will inevitably fail."
Gazette Staff .
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17, Jan - 2006
Rafah attack sparks outrage
Magda El-Ghitany
gauges reactions to last week`s attack by Palestinian militants on the Rafah crossing which left two Egyptian soldiers dead and 30 injured
Egyptians were shocked on 4 January by news that an estimated 30 members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs` Brigade had killed two Egyptian soldiers and injured 30 at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Gaza border. Following the incident 77 Palestinians were arrested.
Palestinian officials attempted to downplay an incident they described as accidental. Hours after the attack Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), apologised to "Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and to all Egyptians for the shameful incident" and conveyed his "deep condolences to the families of the two victims".
Egypt`s only official reaction came the next day in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry condemning "the actions carried out at the Rafah crossing by a group of irresponsible people". The statement continued that such "unjustified violent actions threaten Palestinian national interests". On Saturday Interior Minister Habib El-Adli also appeared on Egyptian TV to say Abbas`s statements had given "the incident its appropriate weight, without exaggeration".
The 30 militants had blocked the access road to the Rafah crossing -- which Israel handed over to the Palestinians in September following its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip -- preventing anyone from crossing to Egypt. They then used two bulldozers to smash parts of the fence that demarcates the border with Egypt. Eye witnesses say that between 300 and 1,000 Palestinians then crossed into Egyptian territories. Egyptian soldiers, who fired warning shots in the air, were attacked, resulting in the death of two and the injury of 30.
The incident happened a day after Al-Aqsa Brigade leader Alaa Al-Hamas, accused of kidnapping British human rights activist Kate Burton and her family, had been arrested and the attack appears to have been mounted in an attempt to force the authorities to release Al-Hamas. Indeed, the same militants had earlier occupied an election office in Rafah and other official buildings, warning that they would prevent Palestinian parliamentary elections, scheduled for 25 January, from taking place until Al-Hamas was released.
"Both [Egyptian and Palestinian] officials are keen that the incident does not harm bilateral ties," one senior diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly.
While the official Egyptian response was muted press coverage of the incident was not.
In a column headlined "Egyptian burdens... rejected apology of Abu-Mazen" Abbas El-Tarabily, editor-in-chief of the daily opposition Al-Wafd wrote that, "if the two Egyptian victims had been killed by the Israelis strikes would have taken place across Egypt and the whole issue might have been taken up with the UN Security Council".
"This did not happen," he continued, "because the killers were Palestinian... [but] that Palestinians were the ones who fired does not mean Egypt should remain silent...what happened was brutal, premeditated and without justification."
Emad Gad, editor of Al-Ahram` s Israeli Selections and secretary-general of Arabs Against Discrimination, and Cairo University political science professor Ahmed Youssef, both attribute the Rafah incident to the growing turmoil in the Gaza Strip and the apparent weakness of Palestinian security forces.
According to Youssef the recent wave of kidnappings and violence in Gaza are the responsibility of small decentralised groups similar to that responsible for the Rafah incident.
The Rafah crossing, says Gad, is now the Palestinians preferred venue for staging protests. Three days before the Rafah clash, he told the Weekly, Palestinian police officers had gathered at the crossing to protest against the killing of a colleague during an anti-drug trafficking operation. "Palestinians with demands now use the Rafah crossing to blackmail the Palestinian authorities into looking into their grievances. They know that anything that happens there attracts the international media and because of this they believe the Palestinian authorities will pursue their demands in order to avoid problems with the international community."
Fathi El-Shazli, former assistant to the foreign minister for European affairs, expressed his surprise at the lack of retaliation from Egyptian soldiers in the face of the attack.
"Egyptian forces sometimes fire against Egyptians during strikes so how come they did not fire against non-Egyptians -- even if they were Palestinians -- when they were clearly being attacked?" he asked.
The "weak response" was, El-Shazli believes, a result of the "sensitivity with which Egypt tends to treat Palestinian issues".
"If such an attack happened on any other border Egyptian soldiers would have retaliated. And there should be no difference in the way borders are policed. That some Palestinians wanted to blackmail the Palestinian authorities is not, in the end, an Egyptian concern."
While Youssef downplays the possibility of the Rafah clash harming Egyptian-Palestinian ties Gad believes the incident will "negatively impact the way the international community -- the US, the European Union and, most importantly, the Quartet -- view the Palestinian question".
It could also, he says, undermine "Egyptian public sympathy with the Palestinians". And coming at such a volatile time in Israel`s domestic politics, with Binyamin Natanyahu likely to mount a strong challenge for the Israeli premiership, any recurrence of such an incident could be used by Israel as an excuse "to reinvade Gaza to end such actions".
Egypt "needs to reconsider entrance and exit procedures at the Rafah crossing to secure its borders," says Adel Soleiman, director of the International Centre for Future and Strategic Studies. Cairo should also, believes Soleiman, intensify diplomatic efforts to promote unity among Palestinian factions.
Gad and El-Shazli agree that one way to prevent a reoccurrence of violent incidents like Rafah is to reconsider the Egyptian-Israeli agreement on the number of Egyptian troops deployed along the 13 kilometre border, currently limited to 750. "It is now clear that this number is not enough. Egypt should demand the number of its troops be increased for the safety of everyone," believes Gad.
"It should be made clear to everyone," says El-Shazli, "that any attack, even a minor one, on Egypt`s borders will be met with strong Egyptian retaliation."
17, Jan - 2006
No quiet on the Eastern front
Egypt is stepping up attempts to contain the crisis that is threatening to topple the Syrian regime,
reports
Dina Ezzat
Following talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, held in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday, Syria appeared to be edging closer to full compliance with the international commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri. The tentative agreement with Damascus to meet the commission`s requests in a manner that does not compromise the status of the Syrian presidency was broached following a telephone conversation between Mubarak and Saudi Arabia`s King Abdullah, who had earlier met with Al-Assad in Jeddah.
Legal sources in London, and diplomatic sources in Geneva, expect that within days Syria will approve the commission`s request to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa and that Al-Assad will himself provide written answers to the queries of the committee regarding the killing of Hariri and other Lebanese figures opposed to Syria.
"This issue has been the subject of informal talks in Geneva," said one Arab diplomat, who added that a compromise must now be reached between international law, which grants heads of state immunity from interrogation, and the enforcement of Chapter VII of the UN Charter which US diplomats have threatened to use should the Syrian president refuse the requests of the investigation committee. High ranking legal sources say a defence for Assad and Sharaa is already being prepared by a leading Swiss legal firm.
Meanwhile Ghada Murad, the head of the Syrian Commission investigating the murder of Al-Hariri -- created by Al-Assad following the adoption of UN Resolution 1559 which calls on Syria to cooperate with the UN probe -- has been replaced by ex-Justice Minister Nabil Al-Khatib. Al-Khatib, an Assad loyalist, has been a member of the Baath Party`s central committee since 2000. The move is being interpreted as an attempt by Damascus to project a more positive image following criticisms of the Syrian commission`s activities by Detlev Mehlis in his report delivered in mid-December.
President Mubarak and King Abdullah also succeeded in convincing the Syrian leadership to accommodate at least some American demands concerning security cooperation on Iraq and to respond positively to Lebanese demands that Syria`s security and intelligence presence be ended, borders be demarcated and diplomatic missions exchanged.
Egypt, say official sources, is now seeking to ensure the Syrians do not get cold feet. The cost of any reluctance from Damascus at this stage, they insist, will be very high.
According to strategist Salaheddin Selim, Cairo`s concerns on the Syrian-Lebanese front involve more than encouraging Syrian cooperation with the international investigation committee. Egypt, along with other regional powers, is, he says, anxious to promote genuine Syrian efforts to pursue national unity.
"Damascus needs to be encouraged to implement the set of regulations and laws adopted in 2002 in an attempt to address the grievances of Syria`s three million Kurds. It also needs encouragement to better accommodate the Muslim Brotherhood" whose London- based leader might otherwise join the Paris-based former vice president Abdel-Halim Khaddam in offering an alternative to the current regime.
The time has also come, argues Selim, for concerned regional powers to pressure Syria to rid the regime of faces that have given it a bad name in Lebanon and at home.
"Al-Assad must let go of relatives, especially his brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, if he wants to give his rule credibility."
Concerns over Syria are compounded by problems elsewhere in the eastern part of the region, with Egyptian officials and strategists increasingly vexed by the situation in Iraq and Israel. Cairo`s assessment of the chances of achieving a semblance of stability in Iraq remains far from positive, and the consensus is that it will take weeks before a coalition government can be established in Baghdad. Nor are there any guarantees that when -- and if -- this does happen the new government will be able to contain ethnic and tribal rivalries.
But it is developments on the Israeli-Palestinian front, say officials, which constitute Cairo`s worst nightmare. "Of all the imminent threats that seem to be coming from the east those along the Israeli-Palestinian border seem to be the most pressing," says Selim.
Egypt is worried about the growing inability of the Palestinian Authority to control the border between Gaza and Egypt where Palestinian militants waged attacks last week that left two Egyptian soldiers dead and 30 injured. As one Egyptian diplomat notes, "if the current state of chaos persists then more incidents of violence can be expected along the border."
But there are yet worse scenarios. In the absence of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon it is possible that Israel`s Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz may decide to send troops back to Gaza, provoking a bloody Israeli- Palestinian confrontation on Egypt`s doorstep.
Selim is also concerned about the weakening authority of both the PA and Fatah, and the growing influence of Hamas. Add to this the likelihood that Israel will shift more to the right -- certainly if Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu is elected as prime minister in March -- and the prognosis looks bleaker than ever. "And even if it is the Kadima candidate Ehud Olmert that gets elected," says Selim, "we should still expect more extreme rightist positions since Olmert will try to prove to the Israeli public opinion that he is a tough leader who can fill Sharon`s position."
President Mubarak has already sent a message of good will to Olmert. But at this stage Cairo is excluding no scenarios.
17, Jan. - 2006
In Al-Ahram Makram Mohamed Ahmed zoomed in the Palestinian electoral image. Hamas has now become the most committed faction to anti-violence with Israel because it wishes to have the parliamentary elections run on time. Hamas believes it can win more than 30 per cent of the Parliament`s seats. When Israel refused to allow Palestinians of East Jerusalem the right to vote, Hamas still insisted on having the elections on the set date suggesting that representatives of East Jerusalem could be appointed instead. While Fatah accused Hamas of utilitarianism, the latter accused the former of spreading chaos to prompt the delay of the elections allegedly because Fatah feels it has a little prospect for scoring a landslide victory. Since Hamas sticks to it political programme that calls for restoring the entire Palestinian territories, Israel is expected to impede the elections or at least object to the results in case of an unexpected victory for Hamas. Now that Israel has accepted to open post offices for East Jerusalem voters, Fatah and Hamas have to agree that a dispute over gains in an inappropriate timing might place everybody at stake. So the supreme interest dictates Fatah`s acceptance of the participation of Hamas in the elections.
Egyptian Chief of Staff remembers
Orly Halpern, THE JERUSALEM POST
Jan. 5, 2006
In 1973 as a young colonel, Salah Halabi fought kilometers from the Israeli major general who had the gumption to take his troops across the Suez Canal in a daring military operation.
Thirty-two years later, as his former nemesis, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, lay in critical condition in a hospital bed in Jerusalem, Halabi told The Jerusalem Post that he hoped the man whom he and his men tried to kill in war would now live.
"I hope that he will return to the leadership of the state and make peace," said Halabi in a phone conversation from his home in Cairo.
Remembering back to those critical days of war in October 1973, Halabi said Sharon`s reputation preceded his arrival.
"When we heard he had crossed the Suez [not far from where Halabi`s troops were] we knew who he was," said Halabi. "He was a known high ranking army leader and we had full details about him. We knew the name of Sharon."
Although Halabi insisted that were it not for a UN cease-fire, he and his fellow commanders would have "completely destroyed" Sharon`s invading forces, Halabi gave Sharon high marks for the daring operation Sharon made across the canal against the orders of then Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan.
"Sharon was a good military leader. We cannot deny this," said Halabi. He chuckled then added: "But he wasn`t very disciplined."
Halabi`s own leadership prowess earned him the highest rank. Some twenty years after that war he became the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
War on Israel, said Halabi, "was not a goal. It was a means. When the political track failed after 1967 and there was no way to get peace, we returned to war."
Halabi`s impression of Sharon changed recently. "I saw that he recently began to understand the international and local political situation properly - especially regarding resolving the Palestinian issue," said Halabi, who commanded the Egyptian Forces who freed Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation. "He began to bring the political right to the center and not leave it as an extreme right."
Like many Arabs, Halabi praised Sharon`s leadership qualities. "He is a very strong man. And Israel always needs strong leaders to make difficult decisions. Like Begin and Rabin. One who can take difficult decisions to make peace.
Halabi wants Sharon to live. "He was my enemy during the time of war. Now he is an agent for establishing peace. He is now needed to create peace in the region. Our best wishes for Mr. Sharon. May he be well."
At the end of the conversation, Halabi expressed surprise to discover the journalist was calling from Jerusalem.
"May I say one more thing?" he asked. "I wish for the Israeli people that you choose the strong leader who will make peace with the Palestinians so that you can live with them side by side."
Mubarak asks Nazif to form new cabinet Egypt, Politics, 12/28/2005
Egypt`s President Hosni Mubarak has asked Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Tuesday to form a new cabinet. Mubarak said according to the government in a letter to Nazif:
You are fully aware that Egypt is on the threshold of a new stage which is likely to finalize the political, economic, and social reforms already achieved over the past years. These will add up to those made on the road towards comprehensive and integrated development; thus responding to the people`s aspirations; addressing their problems and expectations, especially those of limited-income brackets and maintaining the supreme interests of both the homeland and the citizens.
In my presidential electoral platform, I have put forward a clear-cut vision of the features and goals for the coming stage. I have also underlined in my speech on the opening of the parliamentary session and legislative season that I am committed to working with our representative councils towards implementing all aspects of the platform.
This vision hinges on pursuing political reform and further entrenching an institutionalized state, with the underpinning being respect for the Constitution and law, protection of citizens and their fundamental freedoms and the independence of the judiciary. This vision is based on the pursuit of sustained ongoing economic and social reforms, which would raise the standard of living for all Egyptian families.
The forthcoming stage requires close coordination between the government and the representative councils. It also requires effective action on both the executive and legislative levels up to the expectations of our people and to the requirements of national action during this period granted all the challenges it poses and all the hopes and aspirations it raises.
As I previously asserted, the main challenge ahead of us over the coming period is to create more job opportunities and to curb unemployment. Related to this is the need to increase investment rates, employment and economic growth, and to concomitantly enhance the competitiveness of our exports on world markets and to improve performance in both the production and service sectors.
In order to fulfill our ambitious goals for the coming phase, we are also required to continue to liberalize the economy and to enhance our ability to attract more investments and tourism. Moreover, we should continue to encourage the private sector and provide a favorable environment to bolster its role in pooling the investments necessary to provide more jobs opportunities for our youth.
While forging its way towards achieving these ambitious goals over the coming period, the State recognizes its social responsibility towards the vulnerable categories and exerts its utmost to enable them to cope with the burdens and costs of living. To this end, the State will also continue to upgrade insurance, social security, and health insurance system.
The development of education and health systems is a hard core goal for the coming phase; being the mainstay of human development. Associated with this is the need to improve the efficiency and training levels. We also seek greater efforts towards upgrading the state administrative machinery at both the central and local levels and advancing and expanding the base of scientific research.
The coming period also requires us to develop the industrial and agricultural sectors,upgrade utilities and transport services, to continue to modernize rural and urban areas in Upper and Lower Egypt, to develop slums and address, through creative solutions, citizens` problems and to improve their living standards as well as services rendered to them.
In view of your high efficiency and ability and of the achievements made by the Cabinet under your premiership last year, we have decided to mandate you once again to form a new cabinet able to shoulder the burdens and requirements of this phase, along with the knowledge, experience required, and the ability to work at team spirit, in harmony and cohesion and in full coordination with our representative and consultative councils; giving citizens and civil society organizations the chance to contribute ideas, expertise and sincere patriotic efforts towards realizing our people`s aspirations for a better future.
My mandate to you to form a new cabinet comes at a time when our national economy has recovered and is now showing steadily improving indicators. I am fully confident that your new cabinet will further, reinforce and capitalize on the achievements already made.
CGnews
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What did we learn from the elections?
With the sound and fury over, now is the time to internalise the lessons and push forward towards reform, writes Ibrahim Nafie
With the final count over in the People`s Assembly elections, the National Democratic Party (NDP) has won 311 seats, the independents 112 seats, the Wafd six seats, Tagammu two seats, and Ghad one seat. That`s the shape of the parliament that we hope will give us the much-awaited reform. That`s the shape of the parliament that will shake, move and fiddle with our laws and regulations. And yet, the first step to reform is that of understanding what happened during the elections. We have to learn our lessons. If there are good things about the recent elections, let`s reinforce them, and if there are unpleasant things, let`s get rid of them. Perhaps we should form a committee of experts to look into the elections and provide us with
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