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| Africa North |
| Egyptian Salafi party ready to sit with Israel, says spokesman |
| 2011-12-20 |
| Members of Egypt’s ultra-conservative Nour Party announced that they are willing to hold talks with Israel and stressed that doing so is by no means a violation of Islamic principles. The spokesman of the Salafi al-Nour Party, Yousri Hammad, was asked in a phone interview with the independent satellite channel al-Nas about controversial statements attributed to party chairman Emad Abdul Ghafour regarding the possibility of holding negotiations with Israel. “We have not received an official request from Israel yet, but if we sit with Israel, it has to be through the Egyptian Foreign Ministry,” he said. According to Israeli press reports, Tel Aviv has expressed interest in meeting with members of the Nour Party, which garnered about 25 percent of the votes in the first and second round of Egypt’s first parliamentary election after the ouster of Mubarak’s regime. “Egypt is signatory to international treaties and these have to be respected,” added Hammad. “This is not my personal opinion or that of the party chairman. It is part of the party’s policies.” The party’s chairman, Emad Abdul Ghafour, had earlier issued similar statements in which he focused on the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He, however, pointed out the necessity of putting into effect several unimplemented articles in the treaty. “Several articles need to be implemented in order to make the Palestinian people feel that they have benefited from the peace treaty. Among those is the resolution of the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian right to self-determination.” |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 In fact, Islam pretty much requires holding talks until the Muslim party is ready to begin conquesting. With regard to Egypt and Israel, it can be assumed these talks will be of infinite duration, no matter the ambitions of the Nour Party leadership. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-12-20 20:41 |
| #1 Tomorrow we hear that the "Spokesman" was NOT "Official". |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-12-20 20:36 |