NEW YORK- There is new evidence that Egypt is permitting and facilitating the flow of weapons to Palestinian Arab terrorists in Gaza, and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging the Bush administration to pressure Egypt to change its policy.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “It is surprising and disappointing that the Bush administration, which is waging such a critical and historic war against international Islamic terrorism, is not taking action against Egypt’s assistance to terrorists. The United States gives Egypt $2.2-billion each year it has plenty of leverage to make the Egyptians stop permitting and facilitating the flood of terrorist weapons going to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. These weapons are being used to murder innocent Israeli men, women, and children.”

The Israeli daily Ha’aretz (June 9, 2004) reports that on Israel Radio, Israeli Army Southern Gaza Brigade commander Colonel Pinkie Suarez said that “a very large quantity of arms, including anti-aircraft missiles and katyusha rockets are in the Sinai Desert for eventual introduction into the Gaza Strip.”

The Egyptian army occupies the Sinai, and large quantities of weapons could not be held in storage there without the Egyptian regime’s knowledge and approval.

Last month, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Ha’aretz, May 31, 2004) that “Egypt has smuggled a large number of rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers manufactured by the Egyptian military industries into the Gaza Strip.” Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz (Likud), chairman of the committee, said at that meeting that Egypt “has not done anything to eliminate weapons smuggling and sometimes even assists them.” Israeli cabinet minister Natan Sharansky said on the Anne Coulter Radio Show on May 19, 2004, that “90% of the weapons in Gaza came through the tunnels from Egypt.”