Cairo, 7 July (AKI) - The spiritual leader of Egypt's outlawed but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohammad Mahdi Akef, has spoken out against Israel's recent military muscle-flexing towards the Syrian government - which it accuses of harbouring members of militant Palestinian ruling Islamist group Hamas. "The Israeli warplanes that last week flew over the presidential palace in Damascus contained a message to the entire region from the Zionist regime indicating its new method of negotiating with Arab states," Akef said. Israeli fighter jets on 20 June flew over Syrian president Basher al-Assad's residence, while he was at home, in an apparent act of intimidation aimed at obtaining his co-operation in securing the release of Gilad Shalit, the 19-year-old soldier kidnapped by militants on 25 June and, it is believed, is still being held captive.
"The security of all Arab countries is directly linked to the security of Palestinians," Akef added. He invited all Muslims to mobilise and protest against "The progressive abandonment of the Palestinian people shown by the Arab regimes."
Israel last week launched a major military operation in Gaza to free Shalit in which over 20 Palestinans and one Israeli have so far been killed and scores of Palestinian officials detained. Observers believe Assad may pressure the exiled Hamas leadership in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to order militants linked to the movement in Gaza to release Shalit. Hamas' exiled leadership in Damascus, including political bureau chief, Khaled Mashaal, who Israel has accused of masterminding Shalit's kidnapping, are "taking seriously" threats made by Israel that it would target them for assassination, a Hamas source told Adnkronos International (AKI) last week. |