Egyptian Leaders Reveal Anti-Israel Leanings During Gaza Visit – OpEd
By Jim Kouri
Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood vowed on Friday that the Egyptian government will not leave the Palestinian controlled Gaza Strip alone.
He also slammed the Israeli government for its military action against the Palestinian territory as a “barefaced” act of aggression on humanity, according to an Israeli source in Tel Aviv.
“I’m warning the aggressors on Gaza, they can’t have any power over the strip,” Morsi said in a statement on Friday.
“Cairo won’t leave Gaza alone, and I’m speaking on behalf of all Egyptian people that Egypt now is different than before,” he added.
Morsi was referring to the peaceful co-existence between Egypt and Israel during the Mubarak regime. Under Mubarak, the Egyptian military made certain no attacks on Israel emanated from that nation’s borders and terrorist groups were prevented from launching any anti-Israel attacks.
However, President Barack Obama supported the overthrow of Mubarak and welcomed the Muslim Brotherhood when it took power.
“If this is Obama’s idea of an ‘Arab Spring’ then he’s no friend to Israel. All we get from the U.S. President are words designed to placate American Jews,” the Israeli police and counterterrorism source told Law Enforcement Examiner.
Also on Friday, Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil visited the Gaza Strip. He verbally lashed out at the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip calling it an “aggression.” Qandil called on nations throughout the world to help stop the violence. Qandil said that the Egyptian government will continue its efforts to stop Israel’s “aggression” on the Gaza Strip.
Israeli initiated the “Operation Pillar of Defense” and killed Hamas terror chief Ahmed al-Jaabari on Wednesday. Since then the Israel Defense Forces has struck over 250 targets in Gaza, including caches of long-range missiles many of which were smuggled into Gaza by Iran’s Quds Force.
More than 275 rockets from Gaza exploded in Israel since the beginning of the operation, with the Iron Dome anti-missile battery intercepting more than 100 rockets, according to the Israeli military.
“Egypt will pay everything to stop the aggression and achieve a lasting cease fire,” Qandil said. “We will be with the Palestinians until their independence… That’s the only way for stability in the region.”
