EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 13

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000063 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/IPA, AND CA/OCS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2019 TAGS: KPAL PGOV PREL PHUM CASC EG IS SUBJECT: EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 13 REF: A. CAIRO 0026 ¶B. CAIRO 0017 ¶C. CAIRO 0007 ¶D. CAIRO 0003 ¶E. CAIRO 0002 Classified By: Minister Counselor William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Rafah Border -------------- ¶1. (S) According to Ministry of Defense sources, on January 12, an unexploded Israeli bomb landed in an open field on the Egyptian side of the border. No injuries were reported. The Egyptians informed the Israelis, who offered to send a team to safely dismantle the bomb and noted that it was "U.S.-manufactured." Israeli aerial attacks on the Gaza side of the border around the Philadelphi corridor continued yesterday and into this morning. -------------- Demonstrations -------------- ¶2. (U) According to press reports, 4-5 demonstrations were held throughout Egypt on January 12, the largest of which was a protest of 10,000-20,000 in the Nile Delta city of Damanhour. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) reportedly organized the demonstration, and 150 MB members were arrested during the event. The protests all expressed solidarity with Gaza, called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Cairo, a halt to gas exports to Israel, and advocated for opening the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. A call has been made on a small pro-Gaza Egyptian Facebook group for a January 15 protest in front of the U.S. Embassy, and a January 18 general strike. As of 1500 hrs. local, , neither planned event has received coverage in mainstream media or elsewhere on the Internet. Local press reports that protestors in all of the Gaza demonstrations in Egypt are calling for the cessation of gas exports to Israel. The Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy said on Jan 12 that if the an Egyptian court rules that gas exports to Israel must stop, he will comply. -------------- Public Opinion -------------- ¶3. (C) The crisis in Gaza has galvanized Egyptian bloggers, and part-time bloggers who have not written entries in months are expressing their strong emotions on-line, and posting graphic photos of dead and injured Palestinian children. Blogger Nora Younis spent 12 days in Egyptian Rafah before returning to Cairo January 11, and has posted entries on her observations of the Israeli strikes on southern Gaza. Over dinner with us January 12, bloggers sorted through their conflicting thoughts about the crisis. One young blogger discussed her desire to participate in demonstrations, not to criticize the GOE, but to help Gazans. However, she worried that by joining a protest she could be beaten by Egyptian police. Most of the bloggers voiced frustration over what they described as their powerlessness to help Gazans. One blogger wondered whether the Israelis, not Hamas, assassinated Egyptian Border Guard Force Major Yasser Issawi on December 28 at the Rafah border, especially in light of the apparent wounding of four Egyptian civilians January 11 by errant Israeli air strikes on Palestinian Rafah. ¶4. (U) The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) is amping up its PR efforts regarding the crisis. NDP Secretary-General Safwat El Sherif, assistant secretary general and presidential son Gamal Mubarak, assistant secretary general Mufeed Shehab, and other senior party members led a medical convoy to the Rafah border crossing on January 13, to, according to an NDP statement, "deliver aid to the people of Gaza, and to demonstrate that solidarity with the Palestinians requires action, not just words.8 The NDP leaders visited Palestinian patients in Al Arish hospitals, and plan to "check8 the Rafah crossing. Several similar medical aid convoys organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, other opposition groups, and various professional syndicates have been barred from reaching the Rafah crossing. -------------- Humanitarian Issues -------------- ¶5. (C) Several Gazans with "complicated8 injuries are being CAIRO 00000063 002 OF 002 transferred to Dar Al Fouad Hospital in 6 October City, located west of Cairo, for treatment. Dar Al Fouad, the only Joint Commission International-certified hospital in Egypt, has a contract with the Israeli Embassy in Cairo for treatment of members of the Israeli Mission here. ¶6. (SBU) On January 12, 230 tons of medical assistant from the Red Crescent, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar entered Gaza through the Rafah terminal. No inured Palestinians entered Egypt via Rafah on January 12. -------------- Diplomacy -------------- ¶7. (C) President Mubarak traveled to Riyadh today for talks with King Abdullah on Gaza. Press reports plans of UNSYG Moon to visit the region next week. FM Aboul Gheit will attend the January 16 Arab League-sponsored Gaza meeting in Kuwait. Al Jazeerah reports Qatari efforts to move this meeting (either as a ministerial or as a summit) to Doha, as well as the Egyptian rejection of that proposal (which the MFA has just confirmed to us). The Norwegian Foreign Minister will be in Cairo to see Aboul Gheit, Omar Soliman, and President Mubarak on Wednesday, January 14, to discuss Gaza. ¶8. (C) The UK embassy told us today that the Foreign Office Principle Deputy Director General was in town yesterday, as was Spanish foreign minister Moratinos. European diplomats told us today that the EU is debating internally on offering to send an international force to Gaza, including possibly a Dutch/Danish force (NFI). The Belgians told us they planned to propose a field hospital to be based in the Sinai dedicated to treated wounded Gazans, similar to an earlier German proposal (Note: We do not believe the GoE will agree to either proposal. End note.) ¶9. (SBU) We are planning to send a poloff to the Sinai next week for eyes-on reporting, security situation permitting. Our consular colleagues are coordinating with the GoE and others to try to facilitate the departure from Gaza of approximately 138 Amcits; we are trying to get details on the Amcits which the GoE requires. SCOBEY