EGYPT’S SISI BLOCKS GAZA CEASEFIRE TO PLEASE HIS AMERICAN ALLIES
Cairo, 1 Syawwal 1435/28 July 2014 (MINA) – Egyptian president and ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi insists to hinder any ceasefire in Gaza to please the Americans, an expert said, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Monday.
Durham University political scientist Dr Ahmed Tohamy accused “the coup authorities”, led by Sisi, of seeking to abort any Gaza ceasefire efforts “in a bid to monopolise the ceasefire file in a manner that appeases their allies in the US administration.”
He cited the recent statements by the Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, who said that the Egyptian initiative is the only way to stop bloodshed, and the government’s refusal to incorporate the demands of Palestinians in the initiative.
“When the resistance looks for an honest broker away from the biased Egyptian authorities, the latter selfishly attempts to hinder these efforts at the expense of the blood of innocent Palestinians,” he said in a Facebook post.
Iran calls for Egypt’s “urgent cooperation”
Meanwhile Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called for Egypt’s “urgent cooperation” to facilitate the delivery of relief aid to the Gaza Strip amid the Israeli regime’s offensive against the blockaded enclave.
“Egypt’s urgent cooperation especially in paving the ground for speeding up the dispatch of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza is very effective,” Zarif said in a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry on Sunday.
The top Iranian diplomat further expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to send humanitarian aid to Gaza immediately, adding, Tehran is also “ready to admit injured Palestinians to Iranian hospitals,” Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Monday.
The Egyptian foreign minister, for his part, voiced hope that the ground would be prepared for sending aid supplies to Gaza at the first opportunity.
Tehran has repeatedly called on Cairo to reopen the Rafah border crossing to facilitate flow of food and medical supplies to war-stricken Gazans.
Israeli warplanes and tanks have been pounding numerous sites inside the besieged Gaza Strip and killing innocent residents of the impoverished Palestinian enclave since July 8.
The Palestinian death toll from 20 days of aerial and ground assaults on Gaza now stands 1062, with more than 6,000 people wounded. According to latest reports, hospitals in the besieged coastal sliver are in desperate need of help, including medicines and equipment. (T/E01/IR)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
