As the tension in Gaza rises, Egyptians voice concern, reports Reem Nafie On Monday, President Hosni Mubarak met Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Jeddah to discuss the current situation in Palestine in the wake of Israeli threats to launch an all- out assault on the Gaza Strip following the abduction of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian guerrillas. Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi told reporters that Mubarak briefed the Saudi king on Egypt's contacts with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. President Mubarak and King Abdullah agreed Egypt should continue its mediating efforts to decrease the tension in the Palestinian territories. El-Fiqi said, "The Hamas-led government should worry about the well-being of the Palestinian people. They should be their top priority". The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper had reported that an Egyptian delegation had met the captive soldier, Gilad Shalit, at an undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip. According to the newspaper, the 19-year- old Shalit was receiving treatment from a Palestinian doctor for bullet wounds. However, Egyptian officials denied claims that the delegation had visited Shalit, who was captured on 25 June. Since the abduction, Mubarak has held contacts with a number of leaders including Abbas, Olmert, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and French President Jacques Chirac in addition to Abdullah. Mubarak held phone conversations with Abbas at least four times. Saudi Arabia condemned Israel's incursions into the occupied Palestinian territories, calling it "collective punishment" for the abduction. Saudi officials say Israel's response, which has included a broad ground offensive targeting the Islamic University of Gaza and the Atfaluna Institution for children with hearing disabilities, would only lead to increased violence, clashes and hostilities. In Egypt, people voiced their condemnation in several street rallies over the weekend. The opposition group Kifaya organised a rally in front of the Journalists' Syndicate. Around 200 activists protested against Israel's onslaught in Gaza, with banners reading "against Zionism and Arab collaborating regimes". The Muslim Brotherhood had called for a demonstration outside the Al-Azhar Mosque following Friday prayers, however, security forces deployed riot police in all the surrounding streets to prevent worshippers from taking part. Nevertheless, many chanted anti-Israeli slogans and held posters of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the former spiritual leader of the Hamas movement, who was assassinated by Israel in 2004.
