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Israeli Minister: Egypt Should be Treated as "Enemy State"
JERUSALEM, Aug 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Extreme-right Israeli minister Avigdor Lieberman called Sunday on his government to treat Egypt as "an enemy state", accusing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of "wanting to destroy the state of Israel", news agencies reported.
"Egypt is the most hostile country to Israel within the international community and it should be treated as an enemy state," the infrastructure minister told military radio, according to the French news agency AFP.
"This man [Mubarak] passionately wants the destruction of Israel, but he knows he would lose in the event of an all-out war. This is why he is trying to destroy us piecemeal," the Israeli minister added.
"So far, our behavior towards Egypt has harmed our national honor," Lieberman added.
His comments came in reaction to a Mubarak interview broadcast Friday by Israel's second channel, during which the Egyptian president ruled out an all-out Israeli-Arab war.
"Who talks of war? What would be the objectives of such a war?" Mubarak asked rhetorically, telling Israeli viewers they should not start "worrying about this".
The interview was recorded before Thursday's West Jerusalem bomb blast that killed 15 people and the Islamic resistance Hamas movement bomber.
Egypt vigorously condemned both the bombing and the ensuing occupation by Israel of Orient House, the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Occupied East Jerusalem.
In Cairo, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said the Arab world should prepare for the "worst case scenario" as the situation remains dire between Israel and the Palestinians, the official MENA news agency reported.
"We've almost reached a point where we're convinced there's no use in solving the Palestinian question now. If that's the case, then [Arab] contacts won't lead to any change in the situation," he said in an interview Saturday night with Egyptian state television, carried by MENA.
"A politically disastrous situation is coming. We must prepare for the worst case scenario regarding the future of the region, in light of the current Israeli policies," Mussa said.
He added: "It's not worth getting in touch with [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon. There's no point in dealing with the current Israeli leadership because their plan and attitude will not change."
Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace accords with Israel, in 1978, signing a peace treaty the following year.
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