DUBAI - Arab and Muslim countries should not rush to establish ties with Israel now that it has withdrawn from Gaza, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was quoted on Thursday as saying. âIsraelâs policies do not deserve Arab courtesy,â Moussa said in an inteview with the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat conducted earlier this month at the United Nations in New York.
âWhy are they offering (Israel) free rewards?â he said, referring to Israelâs Foreign Minister Silvan Shalomâs meetings with ministers from Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia, Indonesia and Qatar at the United Nations.
| With each withdrawal they get a free reward. Turn them all in and get a set of dining glasses. |
âI donât understand why they are hailing Israel. Because of the withdrawal from Gaza? Doesnât every one know that this is an incomplete withdrawal and that settlements are still being built and that the wall is being built?â he asked.
Moussa said the Arab League did not oppose normalising ties with Israel, but said Arab countries had a âhistoric obligationâ towards the Palestinians and that any ties must be preceded by an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. âAbiding by the Beirut initiative is key,â he said, referring to an Arab Middle East peace proposal offering Israel normal ties if it withdraws from all occupied Arab land. âArab policies must be based on achieving gains for the Palestinians,â he said. âWhat I see now is exaggerated and unnecessary.â
| And who would know more about exaggerated and unnecessary than the Arab League? |
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