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INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000002 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KPAL IS EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT:  GAZA ROUND-UP:  DECEMBER 31 
 
Classified by Pol-Econ Counselor Catherine Hill-Herndon for 
reasons 1.4 (d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  The Arab League ministerial went into 
closed session at 1:00pm local time and as of 6:00 pm local 
time we have not gotten any comment on the status of the 
talks, either from the Egyptians or other delegations.  Egypt 
closed and evacuated the Rafah terminal several times 
overnight in advance of Israeli air attacks, but continues to 
open on a limited basis to received injuries Palestinians and 
allow assistance through.  Protests in Cairo and elsewhere in 
Egypt continue, with a heavy security presence keeping 
numbers down and preventing demonstrators from reaching the 
Arab League.  The press continues to report on external 
critics of Egypt; the independent press joined the official 
media in defending the government against anitt-Egyptian 
rhetoric.  TV commentators suggested Egypt is facing two wars 
-- the Israeli war on the Palestinians and the "dirty media 
war" again Egypt.  Egypt has cancelled several official New 
Year's activities in solidarity with the Gazans.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U)  AL Ministerial:  The Arab League Ministerial 
officially began around 1:00 pm today and is still meeting 
behind closed doors at of 6:00 pm local time.  Saudi Foreign 
Minister Faisal delivered a short opening statement, and then 
gave way to Amr Moussa who delivered a tough and angry speech 
against the Israeli attacks, while also calling on the 
Palestinians to overcome their divisions.  He criticized 
Israel for attacking civilians, laying the blame for the 
current conflict on "the occupation and siege."  Moussa said 
that with if the Palestinians had a "strong resistance or a 
strong army" the Israelis would not have attacked, citing the 
October War -  "when Syria and Egypt stood together and 
gained victory"  - as an example.  He also said that "the 
weakness and division of Arabs and Palestinians lead to a 
situation where Arabs are disrespected," calling on the 
Palestinian factions to "unite and forget their 
disagreements."   Echoing Mubarak's earlier statements, 
Moussa warned against allowing others to manipulate the 
situation for their own political gain. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Rafah border:  Egyptians closed and evacuated the 
Rafah terminal several times overnight December 30-31 in 
advance of Israeli air attacks near the Gaza-Egyptian border. 
 Egypt continues to open the border on a limited basis to 
receive injured Palestinians and allow humanitarian 
assistance through.  Medical cases, depending on their 
condition, are being transferred to hospitals in al-Arish, 
Ismailia, and Cairo. 
 
PROTESTS CONTINUE 
----------------- 
¶4.  (U)  Protestors, including Muslim Brotherhood (MB) 
members and members of the April 6 Movement, demonstrated 
December 30 at the Bar Syndicate in downtown Cairo and tried 
to demonstrate at the Doctors' Syndicate and in Tahrir 
Square, but police prevented them from demonstrating at the 
latter two locations and arrested a number of participants. 
The MB claimed police arrested 45 MB members, but Reuters put 
the number at 23.  Contacts told us of a December 30 
demonstration involving a few hundred protestors in Fayoum, 
south west of Cairo. 
 
¶5.  (U) In the early afternoon of December 31, members of the 
Tagammu and El-Ghad opposition parties and the Kefaya and 
Revolutionary Socialist opposition movements gathered at 
Tagammu's downtown headquarters chanting slogans, and 
preparing to march together to the Arab League Headquarters. 
However, the police prevented them from moving toward the 
Arab League headquarters, and arrested approximately 35 
demonstrators who tried to reach the Arab League.  Police did 
allow the demonstrators to congregate at the press and bar 
syndicates nearby in large numbers.  The demonstrators and 
the heavy police presence paralyzed downtown traffic.  At the 
outskirts of Cairo, police prevented approximately 150 
opposition demonstrators from reaching the capital to join 
the protests. 
 
¶6.  (C) Demonstrations/Looking Ahead:  Contacts speculate 
there will be many demonstrations following Friday prayers 
outside mosques throughout Egypt January 2, which police will 
be unable to prevent.  We will monitor the situation closely. 
 There are unconfirmed rumors that members of the ruling 
National Democratic Party (NDP) plan to hold marches on 
Friday, January 2 in support of the GOE,s handling of the 
Gaza crisis.  December 31 press reports claimed that the 
April 6 Movement is calling for a strike in support of 
Palestinians in Gaza.  However, an April 6 member told us 
privately on December 31 that such calls for a strie are the 
uncoordinated efforts of a few April 6 ctivists.  He 
confirmed that April 6 activists hd taken part in most of 
the demonstrations in Caro since the December 27 Israeli 
 
CAIRO 00000002  002 OF 002 
 
 
attacks on Gaza. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  GoE Statements:  President Mubarak devoted much of 
his televised New Year's address to the nation on December 30 
to the Gaza situation.  Mubarak claimed that Egypt exerted 
"strenuous efforts" over the last six months to maintaining 
calm in Gaza, reiterated Egypt's "unquestionable support" for 
the Palestinian cause, and described Egypt's relief efforts, 
including treating some wounded Palestinians in Egyptian 
hospitals.  Mubarak said that the Rafah crossing will remain 
closed because of the absence of PA and EU observers, "in 
violation of the 2005 deal."  In an appearance on the 
Egyptian talk show Itallem on December 29, FM Aboul Gheit, 
apparentlyin response to the widely circulated pictures ofhim shaking hands with Israeli FM Livni during ther December 
meeting and the resultant criticism, xplained that Mubarak 
had "summoned" Livni to Cairo because he saw signs of 
impending Israeli actin in Gaza. 
 
MEDIA COVERAGE 
-------------- 
8.(U)  Official broadcast and print media continue t 
respond to internal and external critics who chnge the GOE 
is not doing enough to support the Palestinians and to 
restore a ceasefire.  Egyptian TV focused on Mubarak's 
address to defend his decision not to open the Rafah border 
crossing with Gaza and telephone calls with world leaders 
(including President Bush), demonstrations in India and the 
US, its efforts to open the Rafah terminal to wounded 
Palestinians and for humanitarian supplies, and continuing 
coverage from Kafr Sheikh, home of the police office who was 
killed on Monday.  The Kafr Sheikh coverage included "on the 
street" interviews with local residents who blame Hamas for 
the death of the officer and the escalation of violence.  TV 
talk shows focused on the "anti-Egyptian" rhetoric in 
pan-Arab media and the attack on the Egyptian consulate in 
Yemen.  TV commentators suggested Egypt is facing two wars -- 
the Israeli war on the Palestinians and the "dirty media war" 
again Egypt. 
 
¶9. (U)  Independent and opposition press also covered 
Mubarak's speech, some on the front page, and largely joined 
the official media in defending the GOE from external 
critics.  Commentators in the official media universally 
echoed Mubarak's key message that Egypt's commitment to the 
Palestinian people is beyond question.  Independent and 
opposition commentators focused on Egypt's perceived missteps 
in dealing with the Livni visit, but did not question to 
underlying GOE position on the Rafah crossing.  The 
non-official press continued to give prominent coverage to 
the transit of humanitarian aid at the Rafah crossing, 
demonstration in Egypt and civilian injuries in Gaza. 
Discussions on Egyptian blogs follow opinions in the 
independent and official media.  One blogger wrote, "it is a 
strange thing that Gaza is being neglected whereas the focus 
in on Egypt and its so-called treason."  Most official and 
independent media covered street demonstrations in Egypt and 
elsewhere. 
 
¶10.  (U)  New Year's cancelled:  Egypt has also cancelled 
official New Year's celebrations, including a performance at 
the Cairo Opera House and a variety to have been hosted by 
the Ministry of Information on TV in solidarity with Gaza. 
SCOBEY