Egypt has the might to face warmongers' nuclear threats
Egypt, Politics, 1/29/2001

Egypt's Presidential Political Adviser Osama Al-Baz Sunday said the Arab common market, which President Hosni Mubarak is calling for, is a must and a necessity amid the current economic blocs rife worldwide.

In a meeting with the students of Egyptian universities at the leadership Institute in Helwan, Baz said the agreement signed on Sunday by Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon to transport, export and distribute natural gas is the take-off of an Arab common market.

The Political Adviser called for surmounting all inter-Arab differences.

On the Arab-Israeli dispute, Baz said this conflict would only be over when comprehensive peace agreements are signed with all the neighbors of Israel, notably Syria and Lebanon, besides restoring all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and declaring an independent Palestinian state.

Taking up the Iraqi problem, Baz said Egypt is against the suffering of the Iraqi people and not with the sanctions imposed on them.

"Egypt, under leadership of President Hosni Mubarak, has a main role in ironing out inter-Arab differences and problems.

"Egypt will stand up by any Arab country confronting armed or semi-armed struggle," Baz said in reference to Egypt's moves to settle the Syrian-Turkish differences.

On Israel's leftist opposition leader Ariel Sharon's war threats, Baz said Israel knows for sure that it cannot win any war against Egypt.

Egypt has the might and power to stop Israel from using any nuclear weapon besides the fact that any nuclear bomb against Egypt will have its impact on Israel, he added.

"The alternative that Sharon has in case wins the coming Israeli elections for Prime Minister in February is not war," Baz said, adding that Sharon can only say he is not responsible for any agreement or proposal floated when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was in office.

But again Baz affirmed that the joint statement, issued after the recent talks between the Palestinians and Israelis in Taba, was a commitment for any incoming Israeli government as it would be obliged to resume talks from the point they have stopped at and not from square one.

Answering a question on the Palestinian-Israeli talks in Taba, Baz commented by saying that such talks saw a remarkable progress and showed that a permanent status agreement was possible between the two sides on the thorny issues of Jerusalem, refugees, borders, and settlements.

"The Israelis are afraid of the return of more than 4 million Palestinian refugees to Palestine in spite of an agreement that stipulates mulling over the issue of refugees and how to compensate them," Baz said.

"There are steps that should be taken to guarantee that Israel will comply with its commitments, such as forming a committee comprising representatives of states from the UN Security Council, to monitor implementing treaties," he said.

Also, an arbitration panel would be formed to judge any violation as was the case when Israel did not completely withdraw from south Lebanon and maintained control over the Lebanese Shebaa farms, he added.

On recalling the Egyptian ambassador from Israel, Baz said Mohamed Bassiouni was recalled for two reasons: the first was to protest Israeli violence against the Palestinian people, and the second was Egypt's keenness to restore legitimate rights and realize an all-out peace in the region.

He said that Egyptian-Israeli peace pact succeeded in laying the foundations of making Israel withdraw to June 4, 1967 lines.

Jordan made use of the treaty as would be the case with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians, he added. Baz affirmed that the 1973 Egypt-Israel war was a genuine war that had taken the US and Israel by surprise, thanks to the coordination between Egypt and Syria in a cover-up plan described by Israel itself as the best throughout the world.

The Israeli military themselves admitted their defeat and formed panels for inquiry, he added.

The goal of Egypt during the 1973 war was not hitting the Israeli depth but defending the Egyptian Security and rights, he stressed.

Previous Stories:
  Abu al-Ragheb visits Egypt   (1/26/2001)
  Egypt seeks to boost ties with the US   (1/25/2001)
  Sharon's election casts doubt over Israeli peace desire   (1/25/2001)

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