PARIS,
July 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak on Thursday, July 25, accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon of sabotaging the Middle East peace process by launching the
deadly military raid in Gaza City that killed 15, including 11
children.
Monday's
raid is proof positive that Israel "does not want a resolution,
does not want peace," Mubarak told a joint press conference in
Paris after talks with French President Jacques Chirac, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) said.
The
Egyptian leader, met Chirac before heading for Spain, lashed out at
Sharon, accusing him of wanting to "torpedo all initiatives"
to calm the violence in the Middle East.
"Palestinian
and (Palestinian Islamic group) Hamas leaders were making efforts to
find a way to end the violence, followed by reforms" within the
Palestinian Authority, Mubarak noted, speaking in Arabic.
A
U.S.-built Israeli F-16 warplane bombed a building in
densely-populated Gaza City on Monday, July 22, killing the military
chief of Hamas, his bodyguard and 13 civilians, including nine
children.
"There
is something incomprehensible in all this: if they want to punish
someone from Hamas, does that justify destroying an entire building
and all its residents?" Mubarak asked.
"It's
a terrible act that can only bring sadness," he added, warning:
"There is danger not only for the Palestinian people, but also
for the Israeli people, who are now at the mercy of a wave of
attacks" aimed at them.
Chirac
reiterated France's condemnation of the deadly raid, noting that he
and Mubarak shared "identical views on most international issues,
notably on those related to the Middle East."
The
two leaders also rejected a call by U.S. President George W. Bush to
sideline Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in future peace talks,
saying his participation was vital to any peace agreement, AFP
reported.
"I
agree with President Mubarak," Chirac said when asked if Arafat
should be invited to the negotiating table.
In
an interview published Wednesday, July 24, in the French daily Le
Figaro, Mubarak said of Arafat: "The day that negotiations
resume, he will be the only one who will dare to make the necessary
concessions... the only one who will be able to get the concessions
accepted by the Palestinians."
"Arafat
will have to be made to move but, without him, the peace process will
not advance," he added.
During
their meeting, Chirac and Mubarak were to discuss an Arab peace
proposal that calls for normalization of ties between Israel and the
Arab world if Israel withdraws from Palestinian territories and if a
Palestinian state is declared within the next three years, as promised
by Bush last month.
The
two leaders also discussed the idea of an international conference on
Middle East peace backed by France, which the Egyptian president
described as a "last-chance solution" if all other talks
failed.
Mubarak
arrived to Madrid later Thursday, where he will meet with Spanish
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and King Juan Carloss.
The
Egyptian president is limiting his European tour to France and Spain.
King
Abdullah II of Jordan is to meet with Chirac here on Friday, July 26,
before traveling on to Washington for talks with Bush.
Israeli
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is due in Paris on Monday, July 29, for
talks with Chirac, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Chirac's office confirmed Thursday
