Egypt rejects Israeli practices
Egypt-Palestine, Politics, 2/16/2002

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Egypt and the international community reject the incessant Israeli practices against the Palestinian people.

Israel must realize that its aggression on Palestinian civilians with warplanes will not serve its goals, he said upon return Thursday from Istanbul where he attended the Islamic European dialogue on civilizations.

"President Hosni Mubarak is holding intensive contacts with world leaders to transcend the crisis and stop the continued Israeli attacks on Palestinians that do not only threaten the Palestinian people but the Israeli people as well and the region," he added.

He stressed the importance of holding the Arab summit in Beirut next month given the grave phase the region is going through.

On the sidelines of the conference, Maher discussed with the Lebanese Foreign Minister the necessary preparations for holding the summit.

"All matters are proceeding in the right direction and all Arab countries have agreed to attend," he said.

Maher added that he also met other Arab and European foreign ministers, namely those of Kuwait, Syria, France, Britain, Germany, Greece and Turkey to examine several regional and international issues of mutual concern.

On the Istanbul dialogue, Maher said it was important to deepen the understanding between the Islamic and other civilizations to confront the mutual challenges.

Meanwhile, Maher vehemently criticized the Israeli besieging of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.

He noted that the Israeli measures contradict the Palestinian-Israeli agreements let alone international laws.

"Time is ripe for all parties concerned to return to the negotiating table without insisting on setting excessive preconditions that will be of no avail," he pointed out.

Maher explained that it is impossible to attain full state of calm at a time when Israel is maintaining its attacks on the Palestinians.

Also, the Turkish press issuing Thursday quoted Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who attended the dialogue, as having said that besieging Arafat is an "international scandal".

He warned, however, that any attack against Arafat will thrust the region into a state of chaos.

Previous Stories:
  Arafat telephones Mubarak   (2/14/2002)
  Israel can never achieve security through resorting to force   (2/13/2002)
  Israel uses all terrorist means to subdue Palestinians   (2/11/2002)

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