The Palestinian influx from Gaza into Sinai continued to make waves, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed The influx of Palestinians into Sinai and its repercussions once again dominated the headlines. The furore over the Palestinians in the press took place in spite of the fact that the crossing point was sealed off earlier this week by the Egyptian authorities. Opinion was divided over the precise nature of the relationship Egypt should adopt in its dealings with Hamas, the Islamist movement that effectively runs Gaza. Political commentators and reporters took up the theme with much verve and enthusiasm. Writing in the weekly edition of the opposition Al-Dostour, Fahmy Howeidy slammed the pundits and politicians who criticised the Palestinian inrush into the Egyptian territory. "What happened in Gaza should be considered an Intifada against the brutality of the [Israeli] occupation and the siege it enforced on the Gaza Strip. This [Intifada] is not against Egypt, as the Rafah and Arish markets were a lifesaver for those who have spent eight months under this humiliating siege." Howeidi pointed out a particularly important parallel: that while it is very easy for Israeli tourists to cross the border into Egypt, it is virtually impossible for Palestinians under normal circumstances to do so. He noted, "those who shout from the top of their lungs about [the necessity of respecting] Egypt's sovereignty and borders should know that the Israelis are allowed to enter southern Sinai for 15 days without visas. And this is part of the undeclared agreements between the [Egyptian and Israeli] sides. Why didn't we hear any comments from those [pundits and politicians] who are solicitous about Egypt's sovereignty in this case? Why don't they protest against allowing Israelis to cross borders?" A pertinent question that begs a convincing answer. On a rather different tenor, writing in the daily independent Al-Masry Al-Yom, Samir Farid criticised Hamas for prompting the people of Gaza to cross the Egyptian border. "Hamas orchestrated the destruction of the border wall by tens of thousands of Gaza residents and distributed tens of millions of bank notes, some of them fabricated, while some of its armed elements attacked Egyptian border guards," Farid claimed. He was furious about the deliberate encouragement of the Hamas authorities in Gaza to egg on the Palestinians to storm the Gaza-Egyptian border. It was a view reflected by several other commentators. Indeed, the fallout from the Palestinian rush into the Egyptian territories is still dominating the press for the second week running. The views are not uniform, however. Many seasoned writers do advocate Palestinian rights and see the events in Gaza in the past few weeks as a signal of the desperation of the Palestinian people. Several pundits did hint that the plight of the Palestinian people should serve as a rallying cry for Arabs to come to the rescue of their Palestinian brethren. "Israel made the people of Gaza starve and forced them to emigrate and to replay the tragedy of 1948," former General Intelligence chief and defence minister Amin Howeidi was quoted as saying in an interview with the daily opposition Al-Wafd. Howeidi said Arabs must grasp the opportunity and seriously do something to serve the Palestinian cause. Arabs must start assisting the Palestinians, financially, in humanitarian terms as well as provide moral and political support. "National security is in danger, and the Arab nation is unable to do anything," he added. Writing on the same subject from an entirely different perspective, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim argued that Hamas achieved the goals of Israel by conspiring to destroy the borders in Rafah. Abdel-Moneim argued that Hamas played into the hands of the Israelis. Writing in the daily official Al-Akhbar, Abdel-Moneim was eager to expose what he saw as the naiveté of Hamas. "This was what the Israelis were dreaming of, and the leaders of Hamas made their wish a reality at the expense of Egyptian sovereignty," he reckoned. Writing in the official daily Al-Ahram, Salama Ahmed Salama argued, "the arrangements on the [Egyptian-Palestinian border] will not continue unless Egyptian efforts succeed in reaching an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas which commits them to cooperate in running the crossing point." Indeed, the persistent accusation of Hamas by the official papers were commented upon by the opposition press. The weekly opposition Al-Arabi ran the headline: "The week of slamming Hamas in government- controlled newspapers". In the editorial, Abdallah El-Sennawi argued that there was an official Egyptian inclination towards containing Hamas. "Official Egyptian circles are attempting to besiege Hamas and undermine its political influence among Egyptian public opinion." This official tendency, El-Sennawi argued, "contradicts President Mubarak's commitment not to allow the starvation of Gaza [people]." Writing in the weekly pro-government magazine Rose El-Youssef, Abdallah Kamal harshly criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for staging protests in solidarity with Hamas and the besieged people of Gaza. "The Brotherhood led an organised [wave of heated protests] to stir up people [against the government]. This wave [of demonstrations] was arranged in cooperation with the Hamas movement." Indeed, several writers alluded to the close link between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas with indeed some writers hinting that Hamas is an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood and that the Brotherhood constituted the real threat to Egyptian national security. "Every citizen of Gaza who entered Egypt spent at least $85 daily [on buying commodities], so this figure does not signal starvation," Kamal pointed out. "The problem is not only about armed Palestinians who were arrested, but in the elements that are Israeli agents," he added. Al-Ahram ran a headline: "The strategic reserve of the finest wheat suffices [Egypt] for the next six months". Another headline: "A big deal aimed at importing half a million tonnes of wheat from four countries at the lowest prices." Meanwhile, Al-Wafd reported, "the crisis of long queues of citizens waiting in front of kiosks selling subsidised bread reached a crescendo this week." The paper also reported, "people entered into clashes with each other to get bread." Indeed, the bread rioting issue has preoccupied the pundits for several weeks now. And, there seems no end to the debate especially as it concerns bread and butter issues of vital importance to the Egyptian people. On another similar social issue, Al-Masry Al-Yom reported that there were 400,000 children who have failed to register for elementary schools, according to a statistical study prepared by the Ministry of Education. The study referred to the phenomenon of the non-existence of schools in rural areas as well as deprived areas in towns. On an upbeat and cheerful note, Al-Masry Al-Yom painted a rosy picture of the public mood during the matches of the Africa Cup of Nations now taking place in Ghana. It quoted many ordinary Egyptians as saying that they were very proud of the performance of the Egyptian national team. "The national football team is our source of pride and happiness," many people told Al-Masry Al-Yom. "We forgot about the skyrocketing prices of sugar and cooking oil, traffic jams and private lessons in order to enjoy the victories of our national team," it quoted many a citizen as saying.
