Israeli aggression will not lead to peace

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said Israel's incessant aggression against the Palestinian people will not lead to peace in the region or to security for the Israelis.

In statements to the press on Thursday, Maher stressed the necessity that Israel should stop these acts immediately and start confidence-building steps in a way that would finally lead back to the table of negotiations.

"I feel there is an Israeli attempt to dismantle the Palestinian Authority either through economic siege or failure to live up to the promises of Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres who said Israel would take some measures to ease the Palestinians' daily life" said Maher.

"Israel has been targeting the Palestinian security personnel in charge of security and are the pillars of the Palestinian Authority," added Maher. The Israeli acts of aggression have not even spared Palestinian leaders, said Maher, citing the Israeli soldiers' beating of Faisal Al-Husseini who is in charge of the Jerusalem file at the PA.

"The next meeting of the Follow-up Committee, an offshoot of the October Arab Summit held in Cairo, will stress this feeling which has even prevailed in the West," remarked Maher.