All the political blocks of the People's Assembly [Egypt's lower chamber of parliament] launched a fierce attack on Israel for its attacks on the Gaza Strip yesterday morning. Muslim Brotherhood [MB] MPs, though, also slammed the government, criticizing what they described as Egypt's slack response to Israel. The chairman of the MB parliamentary block Hussein Ibrahim said the decision to wage a war on Gaza had been taken in Cairo during the meeting between Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni. Ibrahim also said that Aboul Gheit had looked as if he were Israel's foreign minister and not Egypt's. Ibrahim's declarations, though, were cancelled by the minutes of the session after this was demanded by the National Democratic Party (NDP) MPs, who said this reflected the Assembly's rejection of his accusations at the government. At the beginning of its session yesterday, the People's Assembly changed its schedule to discuss Israel's attacks on Gaza. Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour said the attacks were part of Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people. He added that Israel must not act under the pretext that some Palestinians attack it, as the Gaza Strip is still under occupation. He also affirmed that in spite of the existence of the Palestinian Authority, Israel has not respected the Oslo Agreement and has been keeping on closing the border crossings, killing unarmed Palestinians and preventing them from receiving relief. Sorour explained that Israel's act against the Palestinians in Gaza is not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity. He urged the Arabs to call on the Security Council to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court so that it does not look as if this country were above the law, as it is instead against the law and peace. The Chairman of the Arab Affairs Committee Saad el-Gamal labeled Israel as a Nazi country in the committee's statement. Majority's representative Abdel Ahad Gamal Eddin called on the international community and the UN to stand firm against Israel's practices. The president of al-Wafd Party's parliamentary group Mahmoud Abaza called for the Egyptian ambassador to be withdrawn from Israel and the relations between the two countries to be frozen in response to Israel belittling Egypt's national security. Tagammu Party representative Abdel Aziz Shaaban called on the Arab countries to stand firm against Israel's practices. The Minister for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils Mufid Shehab rejected the speculations on Egypt's stance. He pointed out that Egypt summoned the Israeli Foreign Minister to Cairo to express its rejection of any attack on the Gaza Strip, but that Israel has launched a military aggression against the Strip anyway. NDP MP Hussein Megawer slammed MB MPs and ascribed the Palestinian people's suffering to the disputes between the Palestinians factions, accusing some of these factions of having no interest in achieving peace. Megawer's words sparked MB MPs' rage, but he went on to say that there is an Iranian-Palestinian plan with Hamas and some members of the MB to trigger unrest in Palestine and Egypt. At that point, independent MP Gamal Zahran raised Friday's copy of Al-Masry Al-Youm with a picture of Aboul Gheit and Livni hand in hand. Al-Fiqi commented that the picture was only a formality and must not be used to make speculations. Zakaria Azami pointed out that while Egypt summoned Israel's foreign minister to Cairo, a Palestinian faction – he did not mention its name, though – launched 60 rockets at Israel. He finally said that the continuing struggle among Palestinian forces affect the Palestinian themselves.
