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Cable: Suleiman assured Israel on Gaza

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak passed most of his ruling powers to Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, shown in November 4, 2010 file photo, but protests continued on February 11, 2011 calling for him to leave office. The 74-year-old Suleiman has been Egypt's intelligence chief since 1993. UPI/Debbie Hill/Files
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak passed most of his ruling powers to Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, shown in November 4, 2010 file photo, but protests continued on February 11, 2011 calling for him to leave office. The 74-year-old Suleiman has been Egypt's intelligence chief since 1993. UPI/Debbie Hill/Files | License Photo

CAIRO, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Omar Suleiman, now vice president of Egypt, promised Israel he would keep Hamas from taking over Gaza, a U.S. diplomatic cable states.

The cable, revealed by WikiLeaks to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, says Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, chief of the Israeli Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, secretly visited Suleiman, then the Egyptian intelligence boss, in September 2005 and then recounted the visit to U.S. diplomats.

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Gilad and Suleiman discussed their shared fear of Hamas winning the Palestinian elections, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Suleiman promised Gilad: "There will be no elections in January. We will take care of it."

He did not spell out how Egypt would do so. Hamas went on to win the elections and now runs Gaza.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv wrote that Suleiman feared Hamas rule in Gaza would bolster the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

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