By Mohammad Al Baali
Albawaba.com - Cairo
Despite an official statement by the Egyptian government condemning the Israeli attack Sunday on a Syrian radar post in Lebanon, and angry reactions from the opposition political parties, a traditional holiday on Monday was behind the low-toned reaction in the streets.
Sham El Nisseem, a holiday that dates back to the pharaohs’ time and marked by celebrations, picnicking and sightseeing activities, coincided this year with the raid that killed a Syrian officer and injured four in the first such aggression since 1996.
Egypt’s media published Monday a statement by the presidential office condemning the raid as an “unjustified escalation that came at a time when the peace forces were trying to tailor initiatives that could save peace from the deadlock brought about by the Israeli hardline policies.” Meanwhile, a number of political parties echoed the statement, saying that their leaders will discuss a proper reaction to the Israeli aggression.
In a statement to Albawaba.com here, politburo member of the Naserite Party, Ahmad Hassan, said that a meeting will be held by his movement to discuss the development, which he described as part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plans to expand his government’s aggressive plans to include Syria and Lebanon in addition to what is taking place in the Palestinian lands.
The politician said that statements of condemnation from the Arab leaders are not enough to deter such attacks, calling for a popular mobilization against Israel.
Hassan also demanded that his country expel the Israeli ambassador and sever relations with Israel.
For his part, a member of the general secretariat of the Tajammo’ (assembly) party, Mohammad Faraj, said that a thorough assessment of the situation will be carried out by his party in its weekend meeting. According to Faraj, the attack on the Syrian post is a link in a chain of steps taken by Sharon after the Amman Arab summit last month, in defiance of the Arabs.
In the meanwhile, Egypt’s streets remained quiet Monday due to the fact that schools and universities were on a holiday, but the politicians expect that Tuesday will witness angry popular reactions.
Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1978, but normalization of relations between the two sides have been confined to the official circles while anti-Israeli sentiments have been on the rise, signaled by mass protests against the Israeli practices in the Palestinian lands and against Arab neighbors – Albawaba.com
