By Adam Morrow
CAIRO, Jul 5 2006 (IPS)

Egypt has dispatched a delegation of security experts to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to defuse rising tension. The Israeli military is poised to re-invade the territory following the abduction of one of its soldiers.

The situation has deteriorated steadily since the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants during a raid on an Israeli army outpost near the Rafah border crossing Jun. 25.

Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian militants – reportedly affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees and the military wing of Hamas – were killed in the raid.

Shalit’s captors initially offered to free their prisoner in return for the release of Palestinian women and minors in Israeli jails, but the Israeli government has remained adamant in its refusal to negotiate.

“There will be no deal,” read a Jul. 2 statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. “The soldier Shalit will be released, otherwise we will be forced to act to bring about his release.”

Palestinian groups have refused to surrender the prisoner unconditionally. In an effort to break the impasse, the Israeli air force bombed several bridges in the central Gaza Strip last week, while tanks and armoured personnel carriers made limited incursions into the territory.

Dubbing the manoeuvre ‘Operation Summer Rain’, Olmert said Israel would not refrain from taking “extreme action” in order to recover the hostage.

In a bid to resolve the issue peacefully and boost its diplomatic influence in the region, Cairo dispatched intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to the Palestinian territories in hope of mediating the dispute..

Egypt’s premier spymaster, Suleiman also has a mandate from the government to facilitate negotiations between disparate Palestinian militant groups and Israel. Cairo signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979.

“Egypt is trying to convince the Israelis to release Palestinian prisoners at an unspecified future date,” said Emad Gad, an expert on Israeli affairs at the state-run Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

Under the terms of the proposal, Israel would also refrain from assassinating Palestinian leaders, while Hamas would cease firing rockets into Israel.

The Syria-based political wing of Hamas, however, reportedly rejected the scheme, citing the ambiguous nature of the promised releases as a non-starter.

According to some subsequent reports, Cairo – rebuffed by the Hamas refusal – bluntly told its Palestinian counterparts that it would simply halt it mediation efforts if the deal was not accepted.

Egyptian officialdom denies this. “Egypt would not use threatening language when dealing with their Palestinian brothers under any circumstances,” an official source was quoted as saying in the state press. “Instructions from the Egyptian political leadership…confirm our support for the Palestinian people at all levels.”

Nevertheless, the sudden cancellation of a scheduled trip to Cairo by Hamas political head Khaled Meshaal early this month again suggested diplomatic differences.

“It was decided that Meshaal would visit Cairo at the head of a Hamas delegation to meet with Egyptian officials, but recent political and security developments made this impossible,” Mohammed Nizal, spokesman for the Damascus-based Hamas political bureau was quoted as saying in the Jul. 4 edition of independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

“That doesn’t mean there’s any tension in the relationship between Hamas and Cairo, which is a historic and strategic one,” he added.

According to Gad, however, the last-minute cancellation is indicative of at least a degree of political divergence.

“Egypt is having some problems with the Hamas leadership in Damascus. That’s why the Egyptian delegation is concentrating its efforts on the Gaza leadership,” said Gad. “Meshaal refused to come because he wasn’t told what the preconditions would be. And he probably got the green light for his refusal from Syria.”

When contacted by IPS, official spokesmen for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

Whatever the diplomatic circumstances, sentiment on the streets of Cairo remains sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, who have been subject to a crushing economic embargo since the election of the ruling Hamas-led government in January.

On Jul. 1, about 500 activists gathered in front of the Cairo Press Syndicate to protest Israeli military operations in Gaza, chanting slogans against U.S. support for Tel Aviv and the Egyptian mediation efforts.

Another demonstration Jul. 5 in front of the Arab League’s Cairo headquarters was broken up by police. “At one point, activists were surrounded by plainclothes state security officers who ordered them to leave,” said Hossam el-Hamalawy, who was at the protest.

Some activists reportedly tried to present a message to the Arab League secretariat denouncing the League’s weak stance vis-à-vis Israeli aggression.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to ratchet up psychological pressure further, Israeli fighter jets regularly break the sound barrier above the Gaza Strip, while the destruction of the territory’s infrastructure has left many residents without basic necessities.

Israel has also closed all of its crossings with the strip, bringing the movement of people and goods to a near standstill.

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