Gaza residents are captivated by Egypt's presidential race, wondering what the result will mean for them, writes Saleh Al-Naami Although she is studying for her final exams in her freshman year in college, Israa is intently monitoring the presidential race in Egypt on Egyptian satellite stations and enthusiastically supports Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party candidate. Israa, who lives in Berket Al-Wez in central Gaza, quickly influenced her sisters, brothers and mother to also become enthusiastic Mursi fans. Her father, however, prefers Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh. Discussions and debates on the matter take up a lot of the family's time. Israa believes that a win for Mursi would be poetic justice for a group that has been suppressed by successive regimes in Egypt and banned from political life. The Brotherhood must be given a chance to put its programme to the test if that is the choice of the Egyptian people, she argues. "There is great value in the Muslim Brotherhood candidate winning, because not only is this an expression of Egypt reconciling with itself, but also a reflection of Arabs practicing democracy that allows any political group -- irrespective of its ideology -- to reach power," she explained to Al-Ahram Weekly. "As long as it's an expression of the freedom of the Egyptian voter." Israa's father, on the other hand, uses Hamas's rule of the Gaza Strip as confirmation that the victory of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Egypt would give Egypt's enemies justification to put it under siege and boycott it, as happened in Gaza after Hamas won the 2006 elections. Interest in Egypt's presidential race among Palestinians is not exclusive to this family, but has become a conspicuous phenomenon. Palestinians constantly debate possible repercussions in coffee shops, universities, mosques and on public transportation. Although there has been no polling to find out the opinion of Palestinians about Egypt's presidential candidates, by listening to what people are saying, and viewing social network comments, it seems there is majority support for Abul-Fotouh. Jamal Hamdi, 49, a Fatah member, Ahmed Saad, 53, a member of the Palestinian left, and Ibrahim Hajar, a Hamas supporter, live on the same street in Gaza City. They differ on just about everything except their support for Abul- Fotouh. The three believe his best feature is that he is a unifying figure "who brings people together, instead of dividing them". Abul-Fotouh supporters believe he is the only presidential candidate who has shown unreserved support for the Palestinians and solidarity with the people of Gaza. He is the only one of the candidates who has been on a solidarity visit to the Gaza Strip, and as secretary-general of the Arab Doctors' Syndicate he organised humanitarian aid caravans to the Gaza Strip, especially at the height of Israel's war on Gaza at the end of 2008. Everyone in Gaza agrees that Abul-Fotouh played a key role in putting together donations of medicine and medical supplies at the peak of, and after, the war. Many Palestinians especially admired his statements during the debate with Amr Moussa, and in his interviews, that Israel is a main enemy of Egypt, and that he would not allow the continuation of the siege on the Gaza Strip. Social network websites were teeming with the opinions of Palestinians, especially the youth. Several Facebook pages were created in support of candidates, especially Abul-Fotouh and Mursi, while others supported Hamdeen Sabahi. A survey of conversations on these websites shows heated debate between the supporters of Mursi and Abul-Fotouh about the effects of the election of either candidate on the Palestinian situation. Although Palestinian factions are silent about Egypt's presidential candidates, since this is a domestic Egyptian issue, many officials in Hamas -- which is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood -- believe that Hamas's experience in power proves that it is unwise that someone considered a Muslim Brotherhood figure should become Egypt's president. Therefore, they openly support Abul-Fotouh. "We should not ignore the current balance of power on the international and regional arenas," a leading Hamas figure who holds a senior position in Ismail Haniyeh's government told the Weekly. "The world and some regional powers will not help a Muslim Brotherhood president succeed in his mission." The Palestinians hope that the Egyptian elections will be a defining turning point in eliminating the effects of the six-year siege of Gaza. Majed Abu Samha, a professor at the Islamic University in Gaza, said that with the exception of Moussa and Ahmed Shafik, all presidential candidates would not accept a continuation of the siege on Gaza. Gaza residents especially hope that Egypt's presidential elections will put an end to smuggling via tunnels that has so far killed 180 young men who work in them. Khalil Al-Shahri, an importer of electrical goods, hopes that the next Egyptian president will order legal trading between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, even if it raises the price of imported goods, because this would be a form of normalising relations between the two peoples. Palestinians also hope that the next president of Egypt will send experts in the medical and education fields to the Gaza Strip. Unlike in most of the world's countries, Egyptians living in the Gaza Strip could not exercise their right of voting in the presidential election, since Egypt does not have diplomatic representation there. The consulate was closed in 2007 after Hamas's rise to power. While the exact number of Egyptians in Gaza is unknown, it is estimated at several thousand. Meanwhile, Israeli decision-makers, intellectuals, the media and research centres are also closely following the presidential race in Egypt. Amnon Abramovich, a senior commentator on Israel's Channel 2 television, described presidential elections in Egypt as a historic event, and quoted senior sources in the army and security apparatus in Tel Aviv as saying that the outcome of Egypt's presidential race could entirely change the course of events in -- and history of -- the region. Israel Radio reported that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued strict orders to cabinet ministers and senior army commanders not to comment on Egyptian presidential candidates, out of concern that it is construed that Israel prefers one candidate over another. Nonetheless, many Israeli officials welcomed Moussa's comments that he does not view Israel as Egypt's enemy. Israeli President Shimon Peres described Moussa's comments as "reassuring and responsible". Israel's Channel 1 television reported that strategic decision-making circles and research centres in Israel's military intelligence apparatus and Mossad are preparing possible scenarios for the future of relations with Egypt after the presidential elections, depending on who the winner will be. Israel's Channel 10 television reported that Netanyahu and his foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, opened secret talks with senior US officials about the future of relations with Egypt, and the repercussions on the stability of the region. Lieberman had made headlines when he declared that Egypt after Mubarak poses a threat to Israel's "national security" that far exceeds that of Iran's nuclear programme. Strategic and economic experts in Tel Aviv believe that dealing with Egypt as an enemy would take a hefty toll on Israel's economy because it would mean more spending on security at the expense of civilian projects. Israeli commentators also agree that Tel Aviv's ability to attack Palestinians after the Egyptian revolution and Mubarak's ouster has greatly diminished.
