CAIRO: Secretary General of the National Democratic Party's (NDP) policies committee, Gamal Mubarak, slammed some intellectual and media figures at a conference Saturday, accusing them of trying to incite Egyptians against the government. "They were only opposed to Egypt's role [in its ceasefire initiative] to get attention, he said, Al-Masry Al-Youm local daily reported Sunday. Mubarak also condemned other countries' criticism of Egypt, questioning what they had done for the cause. "We're with the resistance but we are not to be taught what to do, Mubarak said. The conference was attended by Cairo governor Abdel Azim Wazir and Assistant Secretary General of the NDP Zakaria Azmi among other party leaders. Mubarak said that the Arab world's power hinges on Egypt, adding that the Egyptian initiative led by President Hosni Mubarak was fully implemented. Azmi criticized Hezbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. "Nasrallah bombed Israel with a rocket and then said 'it wasn't me', Bashar Al-Assad, on the other hand, could've liberated his country, which didn't fire a bullet in 40 years, but preferred to campaign against Egypt, Azmi said. He added that Egypt is keen on securing its borders and refuses to have foreign forces on its land. Several political analysts contacted by Daily News Egypt refused to comment on Mubarak's statements. Meanwhile, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak held a conference Sunday as part of her International Women's Peace Movement, where she charted Egypt's efforts exerted throughout Israel's three-week brutal campaign on Gaza. In her speech, she highlighted the extraordinary work of the Egyptian Red Crescent which coordinated the relief efforts with other international relief and humanitarian aid agencies such as the UNRWA and the Palestinian Red Crescent. She also announced the setting up of the Emergency Committee for the Coordination of Assistance to Gaza on Jan. 17 whose main aims are to secure safe passage of humanitarian relief, to put together a needs assessment plan in coordination with partners inside Gaza, and to ensure that Israel abides by the Fourth Geneva Convention with regards to the treatment of war casualties. During the same conference, Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly announced that of the 758 Gazans wounded who left the Strip to be treated, 636 were sent to Egypt, 570 of which are still receiving treatment in Egyptian hospitals. About 58 of them are children. Twenty-seven passed away and the remaining 95 were sent to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Belgium. He added that of the 182 doctors who entered Gaza to give their professional assistance, 89 were Egyptians and that Egypt was expecting over 600 patients suffering chronic illness unrelated to the fighting. The ministry further plans to upgrade the hospitals in Sheikh Zowayed and Rafah, as well as make available tens of movable clinics to handle uncritical cases which require minimal facilities.
