Moussa hails releasing the Palestinian prisoners

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa stated that releasing the Palestinian detainees and moving toward opening the secure passage as well as the decision to dissolve some settlements give positive indications that are followed by Egypt.

In answering a question regarding the current developments on the Palestinian track in light of what was presented by Mohammed Bassiouni, Egypt's ambassador to Israel, Moussa said, "This is added to what might be of negative indications we also follow up."

Regarding whether Bassiouni's report refers to an escalation in the support for peace in Israel, Moussa said, "There is an important peace-supporting trend inside Israel, and there is a public opinion supporting peace inside Israel in various degrees, maybe in the range of different thinking, yet, generally there is a peace-supporting trend with the Arabs in general and with the Palestinians in general."

In answering a question on whether Israeli - Egyptian relations are being developed in light of moving towards the peace process, Moussa said, "The process' forward movement positively affects the general atmosphere for relations in the whole area."