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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Egypt veers to most radical Palestinian anti-Israel stance | |
| 2008-11-03 | |
The draft was drawn up as part of the Mubarak government’s effort to broker the reconciliation of the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah. Egypt backed the most radical Palestinian line to make the draft palatable to Hamas. Israeli security sources say it is the most anti-Israeli document penned in many years. In another step to make the running with Palestinian extremists, the four-page text endorses the 1948 refugees return to “their places before they were uprooted.” This demand has been internationally accepted as a prescription for Israel’s destruction. Suleiman moreover omitted the conventional proposition that a Palestinian state must spring from a peace accord with Israel. In fact, Israel is not mentioned at all, as through it has no existence in any diplomatic or regional context. Ignoring the radical winds blowing from Egypt, Israeli president Shimon Peres and defense minister Ehud Barak persist in clinging to the “moderate” camp led by the Mubarak regime as a valued go-between with the Palestinians. They are both now actively promoting the Saudi peace plan backed by Egypt and adopted at the Arab League 2002 summit. When he visited Mubarak at Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 23, Peres faced a blank wall when he offered fresh Israeli diplomatic initiatives. His appeal for help in releasing the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit was equally snubbed. The Egyptian leader made it clear that patching up the quarrel among warring Palestinian factions was his sole concern, and so Peres came away from the encounter empty-handed. Barak has also found it convenient to forget that Israel agreed last June to an informal six-month truce with Hamas after Cairo pledged every possible effort to obtain the soldier’s quick release. Since then, the Egyptians have not lifted a finger. | |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #1 Egypt veers to openly expressing most radical Palestinian anti-Israel stance Here, fixed it. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-11-03 09:52 |