EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 18

S E C R E T CAIRO 000088 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2019 TAGS: KPAL PGOV PREL PHUM CASC EAID MOPS EG IS SUBJECT: EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 18 REF: A. CAIRO 0081 ¶B. CAIRO 0068 ¶C. CAIRO 0063 ¶D. CAIRO 0026 ¶E. CAIRO 0017 ¶F. CAIRO 0007 ¶G. CAIRO 0003 ¶H. CAIRO 0002 Classified By: Minister Counselor William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Humanitarian Assistance: On January 18, 140 tons of medical aid from the Red Crescent, Qatar, Bahrain, and Morocco were delivered through Rafah, along with 42 casualties. The Red Crescent delivered 90 tons of flour and rice through Kerem Shalom and 400 tons of food aid entered through Aouja from Jordan, Morocco, Oman, and Libya. ¶2. (S) Rafah: Border is quiet, according to DAO currently at Rafah Terminal. As of 1:30 pm local, the first Amcit evacuees from Gaza had just come through. ¶3. (U) Demonstrations: According to independent press reports, on January 18 MB-supporters staged demonstrations of approximately 1,500 protesters in the towns of Kafr Al-Zayyat and Qaranshu calling for opening the Rafah border crossing, stopping gas exports to Israel and expelling the Israeli ambassador. On January 18 in Suez, 4,000 MB supporters reportedly demonstrated against Israel's killing of women and children in Gaza. ¶4. (U) Contacts told us January 18 that the Facebook group that had called for a general strike January 18 changed the date for the strike to January 28, without providing a rationale. ¶5. (C) On January 19, two young liberal political activists expressed outrage to us about the Israeli operations in Gaza, calling Israel's actions "war crimes." The activists characterized the conflict as an Israeli "war against the Palestinian people, not Hamas," and asserted that Palestinian resistance is "legitimate, not terrorism." ¶6. (SBU) On January 17, between 300-600 Muslim Brotherhood (MB) supporters were arrested in connection with a pro-Gaza demonstration in downtown Cairo. The security forces reportedly beat several protestors, amidst a formidable array of riot police and security trucks concentrated around the central Ramses Square. Despite the cease-fire, further protests are reportedly planned for this week. ¶7. (SBU) On January 18, the MB issued a statement criticizing the January 18 meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, hosted by President Mubarak. The MB statement criticized the "American-Zionist-European war machines and schemes.8 The MB is also leading an Egyptian opposition initiative, "parallel to Qatar,s effort,8 to raise USD 50 million for "the impeached Palestinian government in Gaza8 (aka Hamas) to re-build. ¶8. (SBU) Speaker of the People,s Assembly, Fathi Surour, in a letter to EU Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering, called for a fact-finding committee to be organized to investigate Israeli "atrocities8 in Gaza. ¶9. (SBU) Gaza Donors' Conference: According to the Norwegian DCM, the Egyptians are planning to host a Gaza donors' conference in Egypt in the "very near future," headed by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak. According to the Norwegian DCM, within two weeks after this conference, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) will host a similar donors' conference likely either in Oslo, Paris, or Prague. He said the difference between the two conferences will be that the Egypt conference will discuss "little of substance," but will be mainly for public consumption and discussing "big picture generalities," while the AHLC conference will deal with details on how, where and where to spend the pledged funds. SCOBEY