Cairo, June 24: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says Israel cannot escape its responsibility towards the plight of Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip and place it on Egypt.
“We are exerting all efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza,” Mubarak told the members of his ruling National Democratic Party on Wednesday in a speech quoted by AFP.
“We reject attempts by Israel, the occupying force, to free itself of responsibility towards the strip and place it on Egypt,” he said.
Egypt has been assisting Israel with its closure of the Gaza Strip in the past years by refusing to open the Rafah border crossing, the only terminal not in Israel’s hands.
Cairo has also built a deep metal wall to disrupt a network of cross-border tunnels Palestinians use for pushing their basic needs into the besieged coastal strip, passages which Egyptian authorities regularly fill with gas or water.
Mubarak’s comments come short after Israel announced on Sunday that it would allow “civilian” goods into the strip while maintaining the strict “security” restrictions and preventing weapons and certain dual-use items from entering the enclave.
The decision came under mounting international pressure triggered by Israel’s May 31 attack in international waters on the blockade-busting Gaza Freedom Flotilla and the killing of several civilians onboard the aid convoy.
In the aftermath of the onslaught and the massive outrage it sparked in the Muslim and Arab world, Egypt made an attempt to distance itself from the Israeli siege by indefinitely opening the Rafah border crossing.
Earlier in June, Israel said it was Cairo that encouraged Tel Aviv to step up the blockade of Gaza to press the territory’s impoverished population against the democratically elected Hamas government in there, claims Egyptian foreign ministry vehemently dismissed.
——-Agencies