In the face of attacks from Islamist and leftist forces, the ruling National Democratic Party mobilised this week to defend Mubarak's policies on Gaza, Gamal Essam El-Din reports Members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) gathered at two large rallies last weekend to defend the policies of President Hosni Mubarak on the Gaza Strip from attacks by Islamist and leftist critics. Led by Gamal Mubarak, the president's son and chairman of the party's powerful Policies Committee, NDP leaders slammed "those who have tried their best to tarnish the image of Egypt during the Israeli aggression on the Palestinians in Gaza." NDP leaders were particularly infuriated by what they called "the attempts by some Islamist and leftist forces to use the war in Gaza to incite Egyptians against their democratically-elected government," these detractors including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, the Arab Nasserist Party and dissenting movements such as Kifaya (Enough). The party's leaders also condemned the position of rejectionist Arab countries such as Syria which, they said, have focussed on tarnishing the image of Egypt during the Gaza war, rather than on securing a ceasefire and providing protection for the Palestinians. Addressing an NDP conference held in Cairo last Saturday, Gamal Mubarak affirmed that President Mubarak's policies during the Gaza war have proved to be correct and have focussed on deeds rather than on rhetoric. "Egypt has taken the lead in proposing an initiative aimed at securing a ceasefire to stop the bloodshed and provide humanitarian help to the Palestinians," Mubarak said. Mubarak also asked whether the Gaza war would have lasted as long as it had if the rejectionist countries had supported the Egyptian ceasefire initiative from the beginning and thus saved hundreds of Palestinian lives. However, "instead of supporting the Egyptian initiative," Mubarak said, "these foreign forces opted to attack Egypt and cast doubts on the initiative." Egypt had no untoward intentions towards countries like Lebanon and Sudan, Mubarak said, some of whose people had demonstrated in front of Egyptian embassies and chanted anti-Egyptian slogans during the war. Mubarak said that "the rejectionist forces were primarily concerned to eliminate the role of Egypt in Arab and Middle East affairs. But, thank God, President Mubarak stood up strongly to their pressure and extortion." Mubarak said that the war in Gaza had divided the Arab world into two camps. The first, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, had tried to find a quick solution to the crisis. However, the second, claiming to represent Palestinian resistance, "had tried its best to play with the emotions of the Arab street against Egypt, portraying Egypt as being against the resistance," he said. "We are with the resistance, but we cannot be told what to do by others," Mubarak said. Mubarak also indicated that Arab divisions had given an opportunity to non-Arab forces, particularly Iran, to exert influence in the region. "Egypt has profound differences with Iran's perception of the region, but we will not let these block our efforts to secure reconciliation among the Palestinian factions and achieve peace," Mubarak said. There was no competition between Egypt and Turkey over this role, he added, noting that there was a need for joint Arab action to confront the dangers faced by the region, foremost among which was the threat to the Palestinian cause. Closer to home, Mubarak said he regretted that forces in Egypt had allied themselves with some Arab satellite TV channels in order to criticise the Egyptian government in its handling of the war in Gaza. "To those who think that Egyptians will rebel against their government, I tell you that you are wrong because political openness and freedom of speech are the proofs that the regime in Egypt is strong," he said. Zakaria Azmi, chief of the presidential staff and the NDP's assistant secretary-general, also slammed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shia Hizbullah Party, and the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for their conduct during the war in Gaza. "Nasrallah bombed Israel with rockets and then said he hadn't, while Bashar Al-Assad could have liberated his country, which has not fired as much as a bullet at Israel in 40 years, but instead preferred to lead a campaign of hatred against Egypt," Azmi said. Azmi also said that the telephone calls made by incoming US President Barack Obama to President Mubarak during the crisis showed that Egypt was the centre of gravity in the region. For his part, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab affirmed that Egypt had not concluded any agreement with Israel on securing the borders between Sinai and Gaza in the People's Assembly on Sunday. "No such agreement can be concluded without the approval of parliament," he said. A delegation including members of the general committees of the two houses of parliament -- the People's Assembly and the Shura Council -- also visited President Mubarak on Monday to express support for Egypt's policies on Gaza and Palestinian reconciliation. The general committees include the chairmen of parliamentary committees, deputy speakers and representatives of the opposition and independent MPs. Speaker of the People's Assembly Fathi Sorour told Mubarak that his policies on Gaza had been correct, and that "it is a matter of regret that some have insisted on ignoring the wisdom of these policies and instead sought brutal military confrontation." Sorour praised Mubarak's role in securing a ceasefire. "Egypt was the focus of international attention at the Sharm El-Sheikh conference," he said, "impressing the world with its influential role and political weight." Sorour also urged Mubarak to continue on the road of securing reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions and putting an end to the siege of Gaza. For his part, Safwat El-Sherif, chairman of the Shura Council and secretary-general of the NDP, said Israel's attacks on Gaza were among the most difficult situations that Egypt and the Arab world had faced in recent years. "This invasion deepened the seeds of Arab division and shed a lot of Palestinian blood," El-Sherif said, arguing that "during the invasion, the forces of evil and darkness tried their best to stigmatise Egypt but this was to no avail." He said that there was a "conspiracy" against the forces of moderation in the Arab world and against Egypt in particular because it was the main bulwark against any such conspiracy. El-Sherif praised Mubarak's rejection of the American-Israeli security agreement on the borders of Gaza, noting that "our borders are a red line that not everyone can be allowed to cross." The opposition parties of Wafd and Tagammu also rallied behind the NDP's position, arguing that "Egypt is not in need of lessons from others and all should know that it is a major regional power in the Arab world and the Middle East." On Monday, Sorour rejected a Muslim Brotherhood bill aimed at making it illegal for the government to export natural gas or oil to foreign countries, especially Israel, unless this has been approved first by the People's Assembly. Sorour said the bill ran counter to the constitution because the legislature did not have the power to instruct the executive in concluding agreements with other countries. However, Sorour did approve an application from the Brotherhood for discussion of an 18 November court verdict stating that the export of gas to Israel was illegal because it had not been approved by parliament, a move directed against Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit. Brotherhood MP Hamdi Hassan had claimed that the government's exporting of gas to Israel during the Gaza war had made it a "collaborator with Israel" in the latter's killing of the Palestinians, Shehab countering that the government was quite ready to refute any such allegations.
