Former Egypt spy chief: Supplying Gaza not Egypt’s job

In his first television interview after former President Mohamed Morsi forced him to retire in August 2012, former head of intelligence Mourad Mowafy has said Israel has sole responsibility for supplying Gaza with the provisions it needs.

“Is it Egypt’s responsibility? No, there are six other crossings to Gaza and each is responsible for letting through certain goods,” Mowafy said in an interview in the 90 Minutes show on Mehwer TV Saturday night.

Mowafy served in the Egyptian military, fought in the 1973 war against Israel, and eventually became head of military intelligence in 2004. In 2011, he was appointed head of the general intelligence service, but was forced into early retirement after 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed near the North Sinai city of Rafah in August 2012.

Discussing the illegal tunnels used to smuggle basic commodities, construction materials and weapons between Rafah and Gaza, Mowafy said that agreements on providing Gaza with goods are between the European Union, Palestine and Israel, and Egypt was not a part of it. He said Egypt is responsible to let people, not goods through the Rafah crossing, except for humanitarian cases.

Israel started an open-ended siege against Gaza when Hamas gained control of the strip after winning a parliamentary majority in 2007. Israel prevents vital provisions from passing through the six entry points it controls into Gaza. The Rafah crossing is the only entrance to Gaza that is not controlled by Israel.

Egypt has a leading role in supporting its Palestinian brothers, Mowafy said, refusing to confirm or deny that the Egyptian government has previously  condoned the tunnel building as an informal way of supporting Palestinians.

Mowafy said the military’s efforts in recent months have successfully destroyed most of the tunnels. He said that Egypt lost US$80 million per month due to the smuggled diesel and that 5,000 tons of other goods also subsidized by the government were lost daily through the tunnels.

The infestation of terrorism in the Sinai peninsula is caused by lack of development in the area, arms trafficking through the tunnels, and human trafficking, which allows mafias to grow, said Mowafy, who served as Sinai governor in 2010.

“The lack of development means unemployment and free time, which is an atmosphere where terrorism prospers,” he said.

He added that Sinai is a wasted treasure, but offered no explanation for the lack of attention given to it by the state.

In the same interview, Mowafi denied rumors of conflict between different arms of the military ahead of the presidential elections, scheduled for May. He claimed that since day one that he consistently said he would support former Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi if he ran.

“There was a lot of confusion, and allegations of a battle of the generals,” he said. “What I want to say is we are the sons of the military and we have rules to follow and the interest of the nation is above all.”

Mowafy did not rule out the possibility of himself holding a position in Sisi’s potential Cabinet, and brought up the idea of having a political party to support Sisi’s work, saying he would serve in any position that serves the interests of the country.

“It is important for the president to have a strong political backing, but not like [former President Hosni Mubarak’s] National Democratic Party,” he said. “A back-up for the national interest, in order to be able to pass this difficult phase.”

Mowafy belittled the existing political parties, asking what they have done recently. He said that it’s important to activate the role of the young people, but differentiated between “the patriotic youth who want to build their country and not the youth who, in one way or another, are against its interests.”