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Muslim Affairs Page
Answer
Glad to be here, and welcome to all visitors..
Name
Ali
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Profession
Question
Dr. Kareem, I would like to ask whether President Mobarak willingly allowed Gazans to enter the border or his statement came when he realized that he had no other choice. Gazans demolished the fence and Mobarak could not just order his troops to shoot men and women. In that sense he did not willingly wanted to "help" Palestinian.
Answer
Good question Ali,
Your depiction of the Egyptian handling of the crisis is in many ways true..From the onset, all so-called "moderate" Arab leaders including Mubarak were silent and it seemed that there was a tacit approval on their behalf to the Israeli siege..It was also obvious that they accepted the US-Israeli understanding that Hamas' rocket-firing was to blame for the crisis...Initially, Egyptian police were seen using water hoses and clubs to disperse desperate Palestinian women wanting to cross the border...However, as regional popular opposition mounted and it became clear that Gaza's humanitarian condition was unprecedently grave, Mubarak could not risk to be seen (at least publically) on the same side as the Israelis..
The subsequent demolition of the fence by the Palestinians and their exodus into Sinai, therefore was not again met by force by Egyptian border police..The Egyptian government, still under US-Israeli pressure, declared that this was only a temporary situation to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and that border controls would be strictly implemented in upcoming days..
Name
Karima
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Profession
student
Question
1)what are Arab leaders doing to help solve the crisis in Gaza?
2)Why is The Arab League not putting presure on the United Nation to react to what is hapening in Gaza?
Answer
Hi Karima,
The simple answer to your question would be "not much"...Arab leaders have on multiple occassions demonstrated hesitancy, ad-hoc decision-making and a lack of a well-coordinated plan to deal with multiple regional crises..They have consistenly repeated cliches of "peace as their only strategic option" and have shown that their foreign policy options are limited to what is permissible by the Americans and the Israelis...
The Gaza crises is no different..For the time being, Arab leaders are trying to do two things : Appease popular protestors and mounting domestic opposition by paying lip-service to the Palestinian cause, allowing some humanitarian aid to get in, and denouncing Israel's tactics..However, no official Arab government has been willing to pro-actively stand up to American-Israeli pressures, or use their tools of influence to change the situation in order to practically support the Palestinians in their struggle for self-determination and an end to the dire situation they find themselves in...
The Arab League is simply representative of the collective weakness of individual Arab states and their lethargic policy-making style..As long as the US continues to have veto power in the UN Security Council and Arab governments remain weak, any Arab attempt to seek condemnation of Israel will be blocked
Name
Ahmad
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Profession
Question
Isael said it will stop supplying Gazans will all needs and Egypt has to take responsibility for that, to what extent Israel is serious about that and do you think Isarel will the gaza crossing against Egypt in future bilateral relations.
Answer
Hi Ahmad,
The question you've raised is indeed very timely. Since the Israeli occupation of Gaza in 1967, It is obvious that the Israelis have sought for decades to dissociate themselves from their responsibilities towards the occupied civilian population living in the densely populated, poverty-stricken Gaza Strip..
However, despite the withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers in 2005, Israel has consistently conducted bloody incursion into Gaza and has employed airstrikes and artillery fire to destroy multiple targets inside the territory - in the process killing hundreds of Palestinians and causing widespread human suffering. The formula that Israel wishes to have is one that entails a "cheap occupation" in which Egypt would strictly enforce a blockade on Gaza's borders and members of Abbas' Palestinian Authority would arrest militants, police Palestinian territories, and do Israel's bidding. At the same time, Israel would reserve for itself the right to place any Palestinian territory under siege and attack any targets it deems "hostile"...
It is unclear at this point in time, what kind of future border arrangements Israel wishes to have and how they would be practically implemented given the different agendas of the parties involved - Israel, Hamas, the PA authority, Egypt, and the Quartet..
Name
Editor, Mustapha Ajbaili
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Profession
Question
I would like to you Dr. Kareem your thoughts regarding the Egyptian Palestinian relation after this Crisis is over. Pres. Mobarak warned the Palestinian parties not to implicate Egypt in their conflicts. How do you understand this in the light of the current developments?
Answer
Thanks Mustapha for your question.
At the moment, I believe that Egyptian-Palestinian relations are complex and involve multiple factors. Therefore, it is difficult to explain with certainty the implications of this crisis on future relations...On one hand, the Egyptian leadership will not assume a role beyond that which is drawn for it by its American benefactors. It cannot completely antagonize the Israelis or risk an American backlash. The Egyptian leadership given its critical role in America's regional security architecture is not interested in the growth of Hamas' power and influence, given its association with the Islamist opposition inside Egypt and possibly with Iran..
At the same time, it cannot completely risk to alienate the Islamic movement and wants to appear as a moderate Arab state standing at equal distances from inter-Palestinian disputes...
My guess is that Egypt will not allow Palestinians to cross into Sinai for long and will try to limit their movement in upcoming days. At the same time, it will try to use the Gaza crisis to push for a negotiated settlement concerning border crossings with Israel, Hamas, Abbas' PA, and the Quarter in order to try to avoid the repetition of similarly embarrassing crises the future
Name
Ebdelfattah
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Profession
Question
I have two questions about the "opening" (cuz in fact it was a forceful penetration)of the Rafah crossings:
1: Can we say that Israel did anticipate the Gazans breaking into Egypt and thus wanted to put Egypt in clumzy situation?
2: Is egypt trying to send any messges to Israel by "allowing" Palestinians to enter Egypt?
Answer
Interesting question...
One cannot say with certainty whether Israel had a priori knowledge of either Palestinian reaction to the humanitarian crisis which they've been enduring or on how the Egyptian leadership would react to the Palestinian breach of the border...Possibly, one can speculate that Israel might be interested in embarrassing the Egyptian leadership and exposing its contradictory stance or it might be interested in forcing a more favorable agreement that would ensure tighter border controls in the future. One has to remember that over the past months, both Israeli and American officials have vehemently criticized Egypt's failure to stop the influx of weapons into Gaza or to destroy the tunnels that lead to Gaza from Sinai. By precipitating such a humanitarian crisis, and possibly, clashes between Palestinians border-crossers and the Egyptian police, Israel might wish to nudge the Egyptian leadership into accepting a formula that entails tighter border controls...All this lies within the realm of speculation and it cannot be ascertained for a fact.
Name
farwin
- Qatar
Profession
Question
Is it true that none of the funds being raised for gazans is reaching them? I'm wondering about donating to organizations like Islamic-Relief, if the funds aren't reaching them, then what good is it?
Answer
Hi Farwin,
It is difficult at these circumstances to determine what kinds of funds are actually reaching the people of Gaza and the organizations being able to actually deliver them...My understanding is that reputable organizations like Islamic-Relief, Red Crescent, etc are actively involved in relief efforts and that they have a track record of being able to deliver donations in areas of crises across the Muslim World..
I am sure that donations will not go in vain
Name
Daniel
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Profession
Question
Is Egypt trying to prove something by breaking the Siege on the Palestinians especially after specultions that the country's role in Middle Eastern Affairs is declining. I know there is an article of you Dr. Kareem on Islamonline that talks about the decline of the Arab "Core."
Answer
Dear Daniel,
Just to get the facts straight, the Egyptian leadership did not actively seek to "break the siege on the Palestinians" as you've put it. In fact, it was the Palestinians who forcibly broke into the Egyptian border and followed through with a mass exodus into Sinai..
I believe, as I've indicated earlier, that the Egyptian leadership has a "wait and see" approach to regional and international affairs and does not have a clear-cut, well-defined national security doctrine...Just as it has demonstrated during the Israeli war on Lebanon in Summer 2006, Egypt first condemned Hezbollah (just as it initially condemned Hamas in this one), then when the extent of human suffering was exposed in Lebanon (and in Gaza), Egypt began to detract earlier statements and adopt a more even-handed position...
At the moment, Egypt wishes to make use of this crises to enhance its regional standing and to appear as a valuable partner to all participants in the conflict. Given the extreme polarization in the political stances of all conflict participants, it is unclear how Egypt's accommodation diplomacy will be successful...
Name
Editor, Mustapha Ajbaili
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Profession
Question
The session has ended. We would like to thank Dr. Kareem, M. Kamel for taking the time to answer our and your questions. We also thank all those who participated in the dialogue.
