Mubarak, a loyal US-"Israeli" in the war on Gaza

Four days on the beginning of the deadliest offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza strip that claimed the lives of over 360 Gazans and injured over 1700 others, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally decided to "break his silence" on Tuesday.

But while the world was hoping Mubarak would finally take a strong position and announce a decision to open the crossings with Gaza at least, the Egyptian leader decided, once again, to disappoint Palestinians and declared that Egypt will keep its border crossings with Gaza closed until his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas regains authority over the territory and a 2005 deal governing their operation is respected.

"We in Egypt are not going to contribute to perpetuating the rift by opening the Rafah crossing in the absence of the Palestinian Authority and EU observers in violation of the 2005 deal" between Abbas and ‘Israel', Mubarak claimed in a televised speech.

Egypt has come in for strong criticism from the Arab and Muslim world for not fully opening its border with Gaza to the passage of both people and goods. Mubarak held talks with ‘Israeli' Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni just two days before the start of the offensive, sparking charges of collusion that have seen Egyptian diplomatic missions attacked in both Beirut and the Yemeni port city of Aden.

But Mubarak claimed that he was totally opposed to the ‘Israeli' operation. "We say to ‘Israel' that we reject and condemn its assaults which must cease immediately," he said in the speech broadcast on state television without declaring any practical decision to support Palestinians.