Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak harshly criticized Wednesday Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's recent admonition
of Egypt for failing to prevent the smuggling of arms across its border into Gaza.
| Arms Smuggling |
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| Report: More tapes exists showing Egyptian complicity in Gaza smuggling / Roni Sofer |
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Government officials tell Ynet that there are additional video tapes revealing Egyptian assisting smugglers bring people and weapons into Gaza Strip. A tape clearly showing Egyptian officials helping Hamas members enter Gaza was sent to US but, in the end, not shown to US Congress |
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The president stated that by opting to publicly pass judgment on the situation along the border, instead of "picking up the phone or conveying a message to Egypt," Livni "has crossed the line with me."
"This works to dampen the atmosphere. The relations with Israel are very important to me, do not ruin them," Mubarak warned. "If you disapprove of the way we handle arms smuggling, you're welcome to do the job yourselves."
The president also stressed that the large quantities of weapons transferred into the Gaza Strip do not originate in Egypt, and that they are shipped through the sea.
In a meeting
between Mubarak and Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Sharm el-Sheikh Wednesday, the Israeli minister tried to cool tensions with Egypt over the incident, and reassured his hosts that Livni was well aware of the importance relations between the two neighbors.
Earlier Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit accused
the Israeli lobby of aggravating its relations with the United States by using the issue of smuggling across the Gaza border as an excuse to cut Washington's military aid to Cairo.
"The latest months have seen the Israeli lobby's efforts to harm Egypt's interests with the Congress," Aboul Gheit told reporters, adding that since Hamas took control of Gaza in June, Israel has been trying to pressure Egypt.
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