Mubarak's ouster spurs Gaza's aspirations

Palestinians in Gaza danced in the streets as Mubarak was pushed from power, hopeful that events would open new horizons for them as well as Egypt, writes Saleh Al-Naami

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A Palestinian holds up an Egypt flag during a protest outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Most Gazans stayed awake until the early hours last Saturday. Heavy gunfire could be heard and hundreds of cars honked their horns on the streets of the towns, villages, hamlets and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip to express their joy and jubilation over the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians spontaneously took to the streets in massive marches across the Strip, chanting similar slogans to those heard on Egyptian streets, shouting: "Gamal, tell your father, the people of Gaza hate you ... Mubarak and Suleiman are illegitimate!"

Demonstrators called on the Egyptian army to respect the choice of the people and to rule with justice, asserting that leadership should be handed over to a civilian government comprising of people with an impeccable history.

It is not unusual that Gaza witnessed massive demonstrations in support of the Egyptian revolution since the Mubarak regime has been viewed as an archenemy of the Palestinian people and their cause. An elderly man in the protests in Gaza City who was chanting at the top of his voice told Al-Ahram Weekly : "He is the worst Arab leaders ever. He helped impose a siege on us and conspired in the last war against us, therefore today we are expressing our jubilation over the outcome of the Egyptian revolution."

Tens of youths surrounding the elderly man agreed as they propped him up and marched at the tail end of a protest. Demonstrators were surprised by candy and sweets that women in overhead balconies showered on marchers. Meanwhile, others handed out candy at ground level. Many in Gaza have high hopes that the ouster of Mubarak's regime will end the siege on the Gaza Strip since there is consensus that Mubarak's regime was co- responsible for the blockade.

Ahmed Hussein, 22, a college student participating in the protests in Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp, said that the Palestinians do not expect Egypt to go to war with Israel but do expect that the new regime in Cairo will deal with the Palestinians as brothers in Islam and as Arabs. Khaled Al-Musaed, 36, who works at one of the Palestinian universities, hopes that what occurred in Egypt will happen in all Arab countries. Osama Debes, 47, a teacher, asserted that events in Egypt have inspired people to believe that the siege of Gaza will end, adding that Israel would not dare attack Gaza after a "nationalistic" regime comes to power in Egypt.

Majed Abu Semha, 44, an academic, hopes that the new regime in Cairo will release Palestinian political prisoners. "For the first time, we are hopeful that the Arabs surrounding us will stand firmly beside us in the face of the difficulties we are confronting," Abu Semha said. "Our relationship with Egypt under the ousted regime was unnatural, therefore we are confident that things will change for the better."

Meanwhile, Palestinian analysts and politicians predict that the fall of Mubarak's regime will also help end internal Palestinian divisions. Hani Al-Masri, a prominent political analyst, believes that an Egypt forging ahead with its future will pull with it the entire Arab nation. Al-Masri asserts that Egypt will almost certainly return to playing a pioneering role that serves the causes of the Arab nation, most prominently the Palestinian cause.

Al-Masri told the Weekly that he expects Cairo to lift the siege on Gaza imposed by Mubarak's regime, noting that Egypt's participation in the blockade was based on the regime's interests as it was preparing to pass down power through the Mubarak family. The president, Al-Masri says, felt that assisting in the siege would help this plan to gain legitimacy with the international community. The Egyptian revolution, on the other hand, has opened the door for Palestinian reconciliation because Cairo can no longer precondition reconciliation on the Palestinian parties agreeing to the diktat of the International Quartet.

Al-Masri called on the Palestinian leadership -- namely President Mahmoud Abbas -- to reassess its position regarding negotiations with Israel and reconsider the core of the national Palestinian cause. He explained that Palestinian leaders made a big mistake by siding with one Arab camp against another. "The Palestinian leadership should not have joined the moderate camp in opposition to the camp of refusal," said Al-Masri. "It should have straddled both camps, because the Palestinian issue is a greater Arab cause, and it was unwise to choose sides in ongoing Arab conflicts."

Al-Masri further asserted that Palestinian leaders should learn lessons from what took place and abandon the current political path that allows Israel to deal with the Palestinian cause as if it were a land dispute. Al-Masri also indicated that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan -- which essentially creates state institutions in the shadow of occupation -- should be abandoned. He called on Abbas to quickly call for national dialogue based on new principles, not the Egyptian proposal.

"As Arabs and Palestinians we are proud of what the Egyptians have accomplished," asserted Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, member of Hamas's politburo. "The biggest losers are the Israelis and attempts at foreign intervention." Al-Zahhar hoped that the leadership of "the great Egyptian military" would decide to reopen the Rafah Crossing as soon as possible.

"No doubt, the Palestinians believe the closure of the border in this manner is a form of siege," he explained. "Egypt said that it closed the border out of respect to an agreement between Abbas, the representative of the Palestinian people, and Israel. Today, Abbas leads the minority and therefore Egypt can revise some articles that are not in its favour, such as redeploying troops in Sinai, opening the border for trade, and exporting electricity and oil to Gaza."

Al-Zahhar insisted that Hamas is not asking Egypt to annul international agreements "if they serve the interests of the country," adding that Hamas is not in contact with any Egyptian officials for the time being.

Meanwhile, the leader of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, Azzam Al-Ahmad, said that the Egyptian people will always be an ally and source of support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause, and called on all Egyptian institutions to quickly take steps to restore calm and stability in order for Egypt to once again take up its leadership role.

"What is taking place in Egypt is a message to the US and its allies in the region that they will fall one after another," asserted Khaleda Jarar, MP from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Jarar demanded that, "the Camp David agreement with Israel should be reviewed if not annulled [amid] the appalling repercussions it had on the Arab nation."

Mohamed Al-Hindi, member of Islamic Jihad's politburo in Palestine, said that history would witness immense transformations as a result of what occurred in Egypt. "Egypt is clenching glory, not only for itself but for the entire [Arab] nation," Al-Hindi said in a written statement. "The Arab and Muslim people are taking to the streets to celebrate what its courageous people have accomplished."

Al-Hindi believes that this historic victory by the Egyptians is an omen that a new Middle East will emerge in tune with the will of the revolutionaries of Egypt and the Arab youth everywhere. "The victory of the Egyptian people's revolution has rendered the siege on Gaza past tense," he said. "This also brings reconciliation closer than at any other time, while Israel's threats to our people are lost in the wind."