El-Baz: Palestinians took the right decision by delaying proclamation of their state
Egypt, Politics, 5/6/1999

The Egyptian president's political advisor, Osama El-Baz, stated that the Palestinian leadership gained a lot by delaying the proclamation of the Palestinian state until the end of the Israeli elections.

He said this postponement averted a chance for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the statehood proclamation as a pretext to provoke the Israelis inside and intervene in the commitments they endorse.

In a meeting with the students of Helwan University, El-Baz said the Palestinians have taken the right decision within the current circumstances; moreover, they did not give up their right and they were not committed to a particular date allow the Israelis to procrastinate.

El-Baz also denied Netanyahu's claims that he gained by the decision to delay the declaration, saying that the Palestinians are the ones who won even inside Israel itself, where recent public opinion polls in Israel indicated that more than 75% of the Israeli people agree upon living with an independent Palestinian entity.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa has asserted the need to resume negotiations on the Syrian track from the point at which they broke off.

In press statements he made on Wednesday in Cairo, the Egyptian FM called for commitment from the next Israeli government to the basics of the Middle East peace process and resuming it on all tracks according to relevant UN resolutions.

Moussa asserted his rejection of the Israeli "deception" policy and called for halting the Israeli settlement operations in the occupied Arab territories. The Egyptian FM stressed the importance of Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon and the implementation of UN Security Council 425 concerning Lebanon.

He also called for the implementation of agreements signed with the Palestinian government to help the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and guarantee Israel's withdrawal from all occupied territories.

Previous Stories:
  Jospin says France will recognize Palestinian statehood on the proper date   (5/4/1999)
  El-Baz: We don't seek to possess nuclear weapons   (4/29/1999)

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