Border protests not against Morsi

Dr Youssef Rizqa Gaza - Mohammad Habib Protesters who demonstrated recently in south Gaza against destroying the Gaza-Sinai tunnels were not expressing their complaints about the Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's policies. They were expressing them to him, as the positive stance of Hamas towards the new Islamist-led government in Egypt didn't change due to the recent tension witnessed on the borders, said Dr Youssef Rizqa, the political adviser of Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza. Hamas has backed the recent protests that took place in the southern Rafah city, held by people who were harmed due to the destruction of dozens of tunnels that were connecting Gaza to Egypt's Sinai. These tunnels were targeted by the Egyptian army in a military campaign that took place in Sinai after an offensive against an Egyptian border checkpoint led to the death of 16 Egyptian border guards on August 5. The identities of the assailants are yet to be revealed. The Egyptian authorities said the tunnels were used mainly by weapons traffickers and extremist armed groups, while Hamas believes these tunnels are essential for the entry of food and other fundamental supplies to the besieged strip. "The recent protests are different to those held during [Egypt's ousted President] Hosni Mubarak's era. We believed that Mubarak's regime was taking part in the Israeli blockade on Gaza, but this is not the case with the current Egyptian government," Rizqa said in an interview with Arabstoday. "The people of Gaza wanted to express their complaints to President Mohammed Morsi, not against him," he added. Rizqa said the Hamas government is dissatisfied with the recent operations of the Egyptian army in the border area between Egypt and Gaza, saying the Egyptian army has destroyed the tunnels without granting Gaza's people an alternative, through which they can receive the goods and supplies that they are in need for. "We still hope that President Morsi will side with Gaza's people as he promised in many of his speeches, most recently during his latest visit to Turkey, where he said the unjust blockade imposed on Gaza must end," said Rizqa. Rizqa, however, stressed that his government pays a significant care for Egypt's security, and is ready to cooperate with the Egyptian authorities on all the issues Egypt is concerned of. He added that Hamas has very high expectations for what President Morsi can provide to the people of Gaza, "although we know his positive stance towards us is opposed by some Egyptian fronts." Rizqa said he acknowledges that a big improvement in the border issues between Egypt and Gaza needs time to be achieved, yet he said that some steps can be taken very soon, like allowing the Qatari fuel supplies to enter the strip through the Rafah crossings, as these supplies are essential for the operation of the sole power station in Gaza. On the reported project of establishing a free-trade zone in the border area between Egypt and Gaza, Rizqa said the project is still subject to studies and needs time to enter the stage of implementation. However, he denied that Egypt requires the endorsement of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on this project, saying this claim is only a media speculation. Rizqa lashed out at President Abbas as the later has expressed his frustration at the Egyptian government's decision to receive Hamas officials in Cairo and to hold talks with them, as Abbas considers Hamas government in Gaza illegitimate. "If he doesn't want any of the world's governments to deal with us so I see this as contribution to the blockade imposed on Gaza. He is only trying to close all the doors to us and block all the ways that connects Gaza to the world," Rizqa said. Rizqa stressed that a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas looks far from being achieved, as the negotiations between the two movements didn't witness any breakthrough. He ascribed the deadlock mainly to the arrest raids made by Fatah security apparatus in the West Bank against Hamas supporters. On the other hand, Fatah officials are holding Hamas responsible for foiling the reconciliation, as the latter refused to allow an electorate registry in Gaza, in order to pave the way for elections to take place in the Palestinian territories, leading to a unified elected government in both Gaza and the West Bank.