Mubarak. slams Hamas, Iran
Photo: Reuters
Mubarak rebukes Hamas over Gaza war
Egyptian president slams Hamas for objecting to efforts to prolong Gaza ceasefire
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak condemned Hamas and Iran in a speech Wednesday, and hinted that Hamas was responsible for the fighting in Gaza.
"Why did the resistance factions object to our attempts to prolong the ceasefire? And why did they not heed our warnings that their positions constitute an open invitation for an Israeli assault? Was this planned and deliberate? For whose benefit?" Mubarak said.
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Hinting at Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, Mubarak said, "For how long will Arab blood be shed, only to listen to those who admit their mistakes later, because they didn't calculate Israel's response correctly; and to those who wave resistance slogans over the corpses of casualties, the ruins, and the destruction?"
"The resistance does not entail slogans that disparage the lives of casualties and that deal in the blood of the injured or the suffering of innocent civilians," he added.
Continuing his onslaught against Mashaal, the Egyptian president said, "I have stressed this before and I will say it again, the resistance must face the cost-benefit test. It must be responsible towards the nations that judge it on the merits of the benefits it has brought for their problems alongside the casualties, the pain, and the destruction it has caused."
Directing his attention to Iran, Mubarak said, "The recent crisis has exposed an attempt to exploit the Israeli aggression in order to impose a new reality on the Palestinian and Arab arena – a new reality that will stack the cards in favor of a well-known regional force, Iran, for the benefit of its plans and agenda."
He said the aim of the Islamic Republic's involvement in the conflict was "to take away the Palestinian Authority's legitimacy in order to bestow it on the factions and Hamas."
Mubarak said the proof of this was Hamas' proposal to establish an alternative authority to the PLO.
"The aim was the widening of the rift between the West Bank and Gaza. Otherwise, why are they now discussing a new Authority for the Palestinian people?" he asked.
