Fragile cease-fire requires effective political measures

Egypt's Ambassador in Paris and Dean of the Arab diplomatic corps in France, Ali Maher has underlined the need for effective political measures to cement the brittle cease-fire between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

He said that cease-fire would not hold for long unless rapid and effective political measures are taken to strengthen Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's position.

In an interview with France Culture Radio, the Ambassador held Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responsible for the outbreak of violence in the Palestinian territories and accused him of closing the door before any glimpse of hope to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

He said Sharon's attitude led to unprecedented state of frustration among Palestinians and helped increase the number of those willing to carry out suicide attacks.

Maher described the situation that prevailed the region since Sharon's provocative visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque as extremely dangerous and critical.

He said that President Hosni Mubarak's decision to call back Egypt's Ambassador in Tel-Aviv was indicative of the Egyptian leadership's rejection of Sharon's provocative policies and excessive use of force against the Palestinian Authority and the unarmed Palestinian people.

The Egyptian diplomat said that Egypt would continue to play the role of a moderate mediator in the Middle East pointing out that Egypt is highly interested in achieving peace in the region.

He, however, said that normalization of relations with Israel will encounter difficulties so long as Sharon pursues his provocative policies which are shunned by the Egyptian people.