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No Egyptian Military Intervention in Palestinian Territories, Mubarak
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| He
reiterated his position that any forceful sidelining of Arafat
would be a mistake
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CAIRO,
July 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - President Hosni Mubarak
rejected the possibility of an Egyptian "security role" in
the Palestinian territories in an interview published Friday, July 12.
"I
cannot send troops for security missions in the Palestinian
territories, I do not accept at all that my forces strike over
there," Mubarak told the official Al-Ahram daily.
He
was replying to comments by journalist Mohamed Haykal, who said last
week that Egypt was under pressure to send troops to the West Bank and
Gaza to fill a security void in case the Palestinian Authority
collapses completely.
Haykal
quoted an unidentified British official as telling him that Mubarak's
predecessor Anwar al-Sadat had informed U.S. president Jimmy Carter in
a secret letter in December 1978 that he was ready to send troops into
the territories.
Haykal
added that an Egyptian source had confirmed the existence of this
letter, part of diplomatic messages sent between Egypt and Washington
after the signing of the Camp David peace accords in September 1978.
Mubarak
however denied there were "secret annexes to the Camp David
accords", which concluded a peace deal between Egypt and the
Jewish state.
In
the same interview, Mubarak said that his intelligence chief Omar
Soleiman, who met with Israeli and Palestinian officials Sunday, July
7, in the territories, found Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
"very intransigent, more than expected".
Mubarak
added that Sharon "wants first a complete halt of violence and
his own version of reform of the Palestinian Authority, including a
change of the leadership" of Yasser Arafat, before taking any
step to resume peace talks.
The
Egyptian leader reiterated his position that any forceful sidelining
of Arafat would be a mistake. "If it is to impose by force"
a new leader, "I warn again, this would be dangerous, dangerous,
dangerous and will harm everyone, including the Americans."
He
revealed that some officials in Washington believed Arafat should
appoint one or two people to negotiate a settlement with Israel, since
Sharon has refused to deal with him.
He
added that he had informed Arafat of the idea and that the Palestinian
leader "had no objections, and does not rule out one or two
figures holding talks with the American administration."
Mubarak,
who has distanced himself from U.S. President George W. Bush's demand
for a replacement of Arafat, said the Palestinian leader "may in
one year or more leave office, after the conclusion of a peace
accord."
Palestinian
officials said that Soleiman's visit to the region helped revive
Palestinian-Israeli talks when Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and newly
appointed Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad held Monday, July
8, the first high-level meeting between the two sides in more than two
months.
Mubarak
has also severely criticized certain provocative Israeli policies
which lead to more deteriorations in the current situation, such as
enabling Jew only to own land.
“Israel
insistence to ban selling lands to non-Jews is a clear racism, which
will lead to religious conflicts in the world,” he said.
Commenting
on U.S. President Georges W. Bush, he said that it needs some
clarifications, especially on the steps Israel has to take when the
Palestinian authority reforms are implemented.
“Israel
must withdraw from the Palestinian territories, because if not, it
will become very difficult to conduct the Palestinian elections,” he
said.
Egypt,
since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in September 2000, has
been a key player in facilitating talks and has hosted a series of
high-level meetings to push for a breakthrough in the region.
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