Morsi would rather think of Palestine

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi told supporters in a Cairo stadium for a "Support for Syria" rally on Saturday that he was going to "definitively" cut diplomatic relations with Syria.

Morsi said Egypt will recall its charge d'affaires from Damascus and shut the Syrian embassy in Cairo. Calling on the international community to impose a "no-fly zone" over Syria, Morsi also said he had made "contact with Arab and Muslim states to organize an emergency support meeting" for the Syrian people.

Morsi's call drew condemnation of a number of Egyptian parties and politicians who believed the president would rather think of how to liberate Palestine from the claws of Israel than promoting the war in Syria.

Egyptian Liberation party called Morsi a terrorism backer and said the party supports the Syrian nation and government in their fight against a US-Israeli conspiracy funded by the several Persian Gulf states and carried out by their terrorist operatives, mainly the al-Qaeda agents.

A Kermat party leader Hamed Jabr called Morsi's remarks interventionist, adding that his speech amounted to interference in the internal affairs of a brother Arab country.

An al-Azhar professor Ahmad Karim too said the stadium rally was actually a trade in the blood of the Syrian nation.

Mostafa Bakri, a former lawmaker said Morsi tries to fake an enemy for Egypt instead of Israel.

The Syrian government on Sunday slammed the decision. Morsi had joined the "conspiracy and incitement led by the United States and Israel against Syria by announcing the cutting of ties," an unnamed official told Syria's state news agency SANA.

He accused Morsi of announcing the cut in ties to deflect attention from domestic crises.

Middle East Online said Morsi's decision aims to show solidarity with Western and fellow Arab states opposed to Syrian government and also detract attention from crises at home.

It said Morsi seeks to make a new gesture to countries which oppose the Assad regime. It quoted Iman Rageb of Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic and Political Studies. As saying: "Morsi's government has adopted the American position on the Syrian conflict and is trying to please Washington by assisting it" in the region and that Morsi hopes the Americans would close their eyes to the way the government could react to opposition protests called for June 30 on the first anniversary of his election.

The website maintained that Morsi's decision has brought Egypt closer into the camp of countries opposed to Assad, notably energy-rich Qatar which has given Cairo crucial financial support to help it weather a severe economic crisis.

The website added that Morsi in cutting ties with Damascus also intended to boost his hand at home, where he is facing growing opposition. A petition launched several weeks ago calling for his resignation has already collected 15 million signatures, according to local media.

"Morsi's decisions are linked to the domestic situation, in order to turn attention away" from the economic crisis and internal political tensions, said Mohammed al-Orabi, a former foreign minister, according to the website.

Amin Shalabi of Egypt's Council for Foreign Relations also said Morsi was trying to improve his popularity at home. "The president is trying to draw attention to external issues to ensure popular support," he said. However, "the internal crisis is so serious that no external issue can overshadow it".