Egypt-Israel negotiations, complete ideas, good intentions
Egypt-Israel, Politics, 1/18/2001

Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami has accredited President Hosni Mubarak with being a staunch advocate of peace in the Middle East region.

Following a two-hour meeting with President Mubarak on Wednesday, Ben-Ami told reporters that President Mubarak has new key to making complete ideas and good intentions.

Ben-Ami said talks with President Mubarak covered several issues pertaining to means to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

"We shall continue talks with Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, and we are in contact with the Palestinians," Ben-Ami said.

On contacts with the Palestinian side, Ben-Ami said they are taking place on two tracks: one regarding security on which efforts should be doubled to curb the violence, and the other is the political track on which the ideas presented by US President Bill Clinton should be scrutinized to see if they would help progress in talks between the two sides.

"We look forward to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in good faith, "Ben-Ami said, adding that he was confident that the Palestinian side shared the same desire to attain that objective.

Asked if any new ideas regarding Jerusalem and other pending issues were raised during his meeting with Mubarak, Ben Ami affirmed that all such issues came up in the talks with the President.

Ben-Ami said Israel, like the Palestinians, has reservations on the American proposals. He believed that the two sides should closely examine such proposals and that there was still an, opportunity to reach positive results for both parties.

Drawn on whether he had made any telephone calls during his lengthy talks with President Mubarak, a diplomatic Ben-Ami said he could not possibly have done so, as that would be a breach of good manners.

Asked if an agreement could be reached in the short period remaining before the Israeli elections, especially that Israeli Premier Ehud Barak was already preoccupied with them, Ben-Ami asserted that Barak was keen on realizing progress in the peace process, and that the Israeli premier had done all he could last year in a bid to sign an agreement, despite difficult domestic conditions.

Responding to a query that Israel was wholly focusing on security issues at the expense of political questions, Ben Ami voiced conviction that the two were closely and inseparably linked.

He went on to express belief that in any agreement there was security as well as political components.

President Mubarak is doing all he can between the two parties, Ben Ami capped his response.

On whether there were any measures by the Israeli government to stop Israeli settlers' attacks against the Palestinians, the Israeli top diplomat only said that the situation on the ground represented a confrontation that "we" wanted to end.

The (Israeli) settlers are under enormous pressure as a result of the Intifada, Ben Ami said, adding that Israel would exert its utmost to make sure that settlers abide by the law and norms.

No citizen has the right to take the law into their own hands, Ben Ami said, adding that the recent retaliations following the killing of an Israeli settler were more reactions.

Ben -Ami would not harp on the gory details of the recent incidents, but he said that separating the two sides was what Israel wanted.

The peace process would naturally lead to cordial separation as part of an agreement between the two sides, added the Israeli Foreign Minister.

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