'Top priority.' Mubarak
Photo: AP
Mubarak: Israel shirking responsibility of Gaza Strip
Egyptian leader says Israel trying to place responsibility towards Strip on Cairo, claims it is taking advantage of internal Palestinian division to continue delaying peace process
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rejected on Wednesday Israel's attempt to "shirk responsibility towards the Gaza Strip" and place it on Cairo.
"We are making efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip," he said in a speech before members of the ruling party.
"The Palestinian issue is a top priority of our foreign policy. We are exerting efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza," said the Egyptian leader.
In his speech, Mubarak referred to Gaza and the West Bank as occupied land where the future Palestinian state will be established "with Jerusalem as its capital."
Mubarak rejected attempts to "perpetuate the internal Palestinian division" and said that the Palestinian people are the only ones paying the price for it. He further added that Israel is taking advantage of the division to continue delaying the peace process.
Addressing the regional threats, the president said Egypt would "safeguard its national security interests and guarantee its people water, nutrition and protection from the dangers of terrorism."
Earlier this week, Israel announced it was easing the blockade on Gaza by replacing a list of allowed items with a list of banned goods limited to weapons and materials deemed to have military uses. Many in Israel considered the move a capitulation to international pressure in the aftermath of the commando raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, which left nine Turkish nationals dead.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, "Over time the effectiveness of civilian blockade on Gaza diminished and the problems associated with it began to amount even before the government was established. This gave Hamas an advantage as far as propaganda is concerned."
