Regional reactions to Egypt\'s new president

Local and international reaction is varied over the victory of  Dr Mohammed Morsi in becoming the new president of the Republic of Egypt.  While thousands celebrated in Tahrir Square and the Palestinian Authority, leaders of  Hamas, Sultanate of Oman  and Turkey congratulated the Egyptian people, the Hebrew newspaper Yediot Ahronot provided a doom-laden headline:   "The land of the Nile has chosen a difficult path, not knowing its consequences.” Demonstrators in Tahrir Square,  received the news with tears and screams of jubilation,  setting off fireworks and  performing prostrations to God. Two Morsi  supporters fainted from sheer excitement. The demonstrators chanted "Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest). while cars blaring their horns and bearing photographs of the new president, performed victory tours of the streets. Morsi resorted to the social networking site Twitter to thank his followers with the words:  "tribute and appreciation to Egypt's honest judiciary and to the  brave military and police who protected the democratic process, and congratulations to the people of Egypt." Minutes later, Morsi’s campaign manager said that the  new president would deliver his acceptance speech  "shortly" without specifying where he would do so, but some anticipated it would be Tahrir Square which has become a symbol of the Egyptian revolution which toppled the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011. Former Secretary General of Arab League States, Amr Moussa, congratulated  Dr Mohammed Morsi on the occasion of winning the post of president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, saying : "We congratulate the elected president and wish him success in achieving the national interest and protect the interests of Egypt and all Egyptians," according to  a telephone conversation with  Elyoum 7  newspaper on the sidelines of his visit to  the Belgian capital , Brussels, to attend  the A Call to Europe conference. Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) also congratulated Dr Morsi  for his victory in the presidential race,  after the head of the Supreme Committee for the presidential elections announced the final result of the elections, Sunday at a press conference at the headquarters of  the State Information Service (SIS). Prime Minister Dr Kamal Ganzouri on  Sunday sent his congratulatory message to the elected  president, wishing him success in his duties "at this historic moment experienced by Egypt, in order to achieve renaissance and progress for the Egyptian people." Head of Ghad El-Thawra (Tomorrow’s Revolution), Dr. Ayman Nour, also offered his congratulations, asking the new president "to quickly implement what he has already promised us to begin an extensive national reconciliation." Nour commented on his personal Twitter account about the lengthy introductory speech given by Farouk Sultan before the announcement of the results of the run-off  presidential elections, made reference to the result of the presidential elections in 2005 in which he competed against Mubarak, saying:  "God have mercy on 2005 elections whose results were declared in 5 minutes." Former presidential candidate Khaled Ali  remarked  that the defeat of Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential election, "was a defeat for Mubarak’s regime as a whole". He said through his page on Twitter adding,  "the revolution continues." In contrast, supporters of Ahmed Shafiq were shocked at the results and voices of wailing and screaming were risen  in front of Shafiq’s campaign headquarter in Dokki. For the first time Shafiq’s supporters chanted slogans demanding the "overthrow of the rule of military and judiciary", and one of the supporters fired  Morsi’s poster  near the headquarter of Shafiq’s campaign. Some members of the Campaign left the headquarters and drove a car and hurried to leave without talking to anyone , while the police were intensively present in front of the campaign in anticipation of any clashes. On international level, a leading figure in "Hamas", Mahmoud Zahar, said that the winning of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is  "a historic moment and a great victory." Zahar added :  "This is a historic moment and a new historical phase in the history of Egypt which will correct the previous 40 years. This is a defeat for normalisation with the Israeli enemy and for the programme of security cooperation with the enemy and selling  the Egyptian capabilities to the enemy." Spontaneous festivities began with firing in the air in all areas of Gaza Strip, after announcing Mohammed Morsi  as the president of Egypt. While hundreds of protesters spread in the streets, dozens of gunmen fired in the air in different parts of the sector, celebrating the victory of Morsi. For its part, the Palestinian Authority congratulated on Sunday the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi for being  elected as president of Egypt, and called on Egyptians to respect the democratic choice and its consequences. A member of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat, asserted : "We congratulate Dr Mohamed Morsi and the great Egyptians for  the victory of democracy," warning of "the use of intimidation against the winning candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood because the democratic choice and its consequences should be respected. " The Hebrew newspaper "Yediot Ahronot" reported the first Israeli reaction to the news of Morsi’s victory saying :  "the land of the Nile has chosen a path without knowing its consequences,” after announcing Morsi as a president. "The Egyptians chose the Islamists, therefore Morsi won, which raises fears of Egypt wearing the dress of religion after the defeat of the representative of the civil state, Ahmed Shafiq". The website of the Israeli newspaper directly broadcast the celebrations in Tahrir Square and said through  its electronic version that the selection of  Morsi would lead Egypt towards radical Islamic trends ... Egypt is on track to become the new Iran." The Sultanate of Oman welcomed the election outcome and said it  " respected the choice of the people of Egypt". According to the Oman News Agency, in a statement issued by the ministry of foreign affairs  on Sunday about developments in Egypt, expressing hope that Egypt would be united "to ensure stability and harmony and cooperation" in order to achieve the higher aspirations of the Egyptian people. In the first reaction by a foreign ambassador to Egypt, the Turkish ambassador in Cairo Hussein Avni said : "the results of the presidential elections in Egypt means that the seat of Egypt at the table of democracy, and its accession to the family of democratic nations is prepared, The Egyptian people are ready for democracy." Avni  told the Middle East News Agency that despite the difficulties and problems on the road to democracy , " in the end, the road will be guaranteed,”  sending Turkish congratulations to the Egyptian people for the results of the presidential election, and the success of the people in passing the test of democracy. He expressed his hope that Egypt’s people "would  be blessed with progress, prosperity and pride."