Abna.ir

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Palestinians in the occupied territories are anxiously following up the second round of the presidential race in Egypt between candidate of the Muslim brotherhood Mohamed Morsi and Hosni Mubarak's last premier Ahmed Shafik.

The Palestinian people is widely in favor of Morsi hoping to see him Egypt's new president and they believe like many Egyptians that Shafik is a holdover from the ousted Mubarak regime.

After reflecting on the electoral program of candidate Shafiq, someone can clearly understand that this man holds a vague vision toward the Palestinian cause repeating the same political positions of Mubarak.

Shafik sees it necessary to maintain the Camp David treaty because it is the source of stability for Egypt and a safeguard for its national security, and  he believes in the peace process and settlement talks as the only way to resolve the Palestinian question.

In an interview by the middle east news agency, Shafik stated that he is keen on not undermining the regional security and will back all settlement efforts leading to the establishment of Palestinian estate with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Since he was one of the pillars of Mubarak regime, his position towards Gaza blockade is still unclear and he also stated that he will protect the gas agreement with Israel as a trade deal benefiting Egypt's economy.

As for Morsi, the Palestinians in general and Gazans in particular feel comfortable towards Morsi because of his stated obvious positions in support of the Palestinians cause.

Among his positions, Morsi sees the Palestinian cause as a core issue for Egypt and Gaza as an important dimension for Egypt's national security and strongly believe in the need to protect the Palestinian holy sites against Judaization schemes.

He once told CBC satellite channel that the Rafah border crossing must be open 24 hours a day and promised to support Gaza people and strengthen Egypt's ties with Hamas Movement in particular.

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