Mubarak: Gaza withdrawal should be followed by further pullouts
Egypt-Israel, Politics, 6/21/2005

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said on Monday that the planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank should be followed by further pullouts.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 aired Monday night, the Egyptian leader called the Israeli withdrawal, however, "a courageous step from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

He said the Gaza withdrawal and other pullouts shall provide peace and security to both the Israeli and the Palestinian citizens.

Addressing Sharon, Mubarak said he should carry on with the peace process and should not confine the withdrawal to Gaza only.

He said job opportunities should be created for the Palestinians following the Israeli withdrawal and the financial support from the world Bank or any other country be given to the Palestinians.

The President said that all Middle East countries want to live in a climate of peace based on justice.

Mubarak in his interview with the Israeli Channel 2, said that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is fully aware of the fact that terror will not stop unless people get their rights.

He said the US President has been fighting terror since the 9/11 attacks on his country, but terrorist operations are still taking place and even increasing in some spots.

Mubarak said stopping terror should not be placed as a precondition, but the peace process should go on non-stop, which guarantees an end to the cycle of terror since the terrorists will have then no excuse to kill.

Asked on Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the President said that both Palestinian movements would cool the situation down once they realize that the Palestinian people start getting back their rights and Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories is being materialized.

Mubarak said Cairo has hosted rounds of talks between Palestinian factions, which need something solid on the ground.

The President said that Egypt has been a staunch backer of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, citing the hosting of several rounds of inter-Palestinian dialogue.

He said that an Egyptian security delegation was dispatched on a two-week mission to the Palestinian territories to defuse inter-Palestinian tensions and help unify the ranks of Fatah movement.

The President further said that he is confident that Sharon is capable of convincing the opposition of the benefits of the peace process and the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.

Asked on Egypt's role in the planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and whether it will try to prevent weapons smuggling through tunnels under Rafah, President Mubarak said the Israelis themselves cannot prevent weapons smuggling as they currently patrol the Philadelphia route.

The President said that Egyptian police are frequently searching for illegal weapons in Sinai and trying their best to foil any attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel.

But Mubarak said that no country in the world, including the United States and Russia, can completely seal off its borders to prevent smuggling as there would be definitely some porous areas.

The President also said that the Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank should be happy with the Israeli pullout as it will provide them with security and safety.

Asked whether he will run for another term in office, President Mubarak said he has not made up his mind yet.

"To take such a key decision, in my capacity as the incumbent president of this country, I should wait until legal measures take their necessary course and be reviewed by the Constitutional Court," he said.'

Mubarak said that the people were really astonished when I took the initiative and opened the door for a multi-candidate presidential election.

"But what I did is really for the generations to come as the people should have their final say on their leader and they are responsible for their choice," the President added.

Previous Stories:
  Fahmi: Egypt, Palestine discuss oil, gas cooperation   (6/20/2005)
  Egyptian FM meets with Israeli peer   (6/20/2005)
  Suleiman probes Israeli Gaza withdrawal in Ramallah, Tel Aviv   (6/17/2005)
  Agreement for deployment of Egyptian forces at Gaza-Israel border   (6/16/2005)
  Egyptian foreign minister and the Palestinian state   (6/14/2005)
  Jerusalem Post: Assem: Egypt will not police Gaza   (6/1/2005)

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