Egypt Must Be Held Accountable
NEW YORK- Nine U.S. Senators have sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to pressure Egypt to shut down the tunnels from Egypt to Gaza that are used to smuggle weapons to Palestinian Arab terrorists.
The letter points out that 90% of the Gaza weapons are coming from Egypt, and asks the president to “convey to Egypt in the strongest possible terms that it has an obligation to put a stop to weapons smuggling that originates from within its borders by shutting down the Egyptian side of the tunnel network.”
The Senators noted that Israel’s armed forces were compelled to go into Gaza recently, precisely because “the tunnel network has been functioning as a crucial supply line for terrorists over a decade, with large quantities of explosives, rifles and ammunition moving through the tunnels into the hands of terrorist groups…”
The Senators pointed to the Syrian Accountability Act, recently enacted by Congress, which imposed U.S. sanctions on Syria because of Syria’s sponsorship of terrorism. They noted that Syria “has both the capacity and responsibility to stem the flow of anti-coalition forces into Iraq,” and Syria’s failure to do so “merited some level of consequence.” Likewise, they said, Egypt “has both the capacity and responsibility to stem the flow of arms to Gaza.”
The letter was signed by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jim Talent (R-MO), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), James Inhofe (R-OK), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), and John Ensign (R-NV).
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) worked closely with the Senators on the letter.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “We applaud these Senators for speaking out strongly against Egypt’s anti-peace behavior. 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.
“In violation of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, there is virtually no Egyptian trade or tourism with Israel; Egypt’s government-controlled press is widely considered one of the most anti-Semitic in the world; Egypt withdrew its ambassador from Israel years ago and still hasn’t sent him back; and Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak has never visited Israel. The time has come to hold Egypt accountable.”