Egypt threw its support behind Yasser Arafat and said Sunday that Mideast diplomacy should focus on the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks rather than efforts to oust the Palestinian leadership.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher accused Israel of "obstructing peace and stability in the region" in remarks after President Hosni Mubarak met Palestinian minister Saeb Erekat and a delegation from the Senate Intelligence Committee headed by chairman Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat.
"Egypt strongly supports the democratically elected Palestinian leadership and refuses any attempt to outflank it," Maher told reporters. "We have told all (parties) that that we support the will of the Palestinian people as it was expressed in the 1996 elections in which Arafat was freely and democratically elected," he said. "Next year's elections announced by Arafat will also prove so."
Erekat, meanwhile, said that both Egypt and the Palestinians agreed on a "new vision to salvage the peace process." "It is based on an Israeli withdrawal from the pre-June 2, 1967 borders within an agreed time table," Erekat said without further elaborating.
Graham said Mubarak sought further "explanations and clarifications" on Bush's ideas, especially regarding a provisional Palestinian state, AP reported. Graham commented he sought Mubarak's ideas for combating international terrorism.
"Egypt has played a key role in the international war against terrorism ... much longer than the U.S. or most other nations and, therefore, there is much to be learned from your experience that would be relevant to our circumstances," Graham stated. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
