Mubarak urges Israel to choose peace path

[Ebikatsu]

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:50:21 GMT

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has called on Israel to reconsider its policies towards Arabs and to "choose the path of peace".

"Israel must reconsider its policies and its way of treating the Palestinians and Arabs," Mubarak said in an interview with the armed forces magazine, on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1973 Israeli-Arab war.

"If (Israel) chooses the path of peace... this will encourage the Arabs to have confidence in its intentions," AFP quoted Mubarak as saying.

"This is the core of the Arab peace initiative, which proposes normalization by Arab states of relations with Israel in exchange for a comprehensive peace, which establishes an independent Palestinian state linked to the withdrawal by Israel from all Arab lands it has occupied since 1967," Mubarak stated.

The Egyptian president stressed that "urgent and serious action as well as concrete measures" were needed to give a re-start to the peace process and added that he is "optimistic" about the latest US efforts to revive the stalled peace talks.

"I am optimistic because I heard from (US) President (Barack) Obama when I met him about positive positions... and I believe that the weeks to come will see the beginning of an opportunity for real peace," Mubarak said.

Israel's insistance on expanding its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank territories is considered the main challenge for revival of the peace talks.

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