A top political advisor of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday that he believed there was a "ray of hope" for the Palestinians, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could soon be out of office.
AFP quoted Osama Al Baz as saying "there is a ray of hope for the Palestinians because there are four powers - Russia, USA, UN and EU - working together."
The aide told reporters at a meeting he held in Cairo with the foreign press that the last negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians seemed to have achieved some progress towards reaching an accord between the two sides.
However, he said, what Sharon is doing "will destroy the peace and will not bring security and will not intimidate the Palestinians," he added.
Baz said that "we are expecting a change in Israel, we do not exclude a new election to replace Sharon because there is no Israeli government (that) can go on in such a situation.”
The meeting came a day after the US President George W. Bush telephoned President Mubarak to discuss the Middle East conflict and reaffirm their "strong partnership" in the global war on terrorism.
The two leaders discussed the "disastrous situation" in the Palestinian territories.
Mubarak stressed "the responsibility of the United States and of the international community to work seriously and rapidly to rescue this dangerous situation and stop the savage carnage."
For his part, President Bush stressed that his country was continuing with its role in ending the dangerous and deteriorating conflict between Israel and the Palestinians - Albawaba.com
