Oct  24, 2001

Mubarak in a joint press conference after talks
with the Austrian Chancellor
Wolfgang Schuessel

President Hosni Mubarak yesterday emphasised the need for easing the blockade imposed by Israel on Palestinian areas, indicating that Israel must understand that its interests are better served by concluding peace with the Palestinians.

    Speaking at a joint press conference after talks with the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, he said the security of the Jewish state will always be threatened as long as the Palestinian case is not fairly handled.

    "This is inevitable for stability in the region. Nobody in the Middle East rejects the presence of the Jewish state but this should be paralleled with a just and fair solution to the Palestinian crisis," he said.

    The President also asserted that the blockade must be eased and negotiations resumed if the two sides want to make a better future.

    In the meantime, the Austrian Chancellor said a clear message must be sent to Israel to withdraw from Palestinian-ruled areas otherwise tension will continue to mount.

    "In the meantime, the Palestinian Authority must assist in the search for the assassins of the Israeli minister of tourism," adding that this was a reprehensible operation that could only add fuel to the fire.

    Schuessel added that the EU and Austria in particular were interested in the role played by President Mubarak to facilitate peace between the two sides and hoped more intensive cooperation could result in an eventual solution for the problem.

    When asked if the Palestinian Authority should apprehend the killers and hand them over to the Israeli government, the Chancellor said the assassination of a cabinet member is very unacceptable, no matter what the circumstances are.

    "If the Palestinian Authority can apprehend the killers it must do so.

    I'm not talking about details because these must be discussed by the two sides.

    I think that easing the Israeli blockade and arresting the killers of the minister of tourism could improve the situation," he said.

    Mubarak said he regretted the killing of the Israeli minister, "but we also regret the assassination of Palestinian activists and civilians who are being targeted every day."

    "If this situation continues, the endless cycle of reprisals will never stop. The two sides must be prepared to take risks if they want to reach a final solution," he said.

    Mubarak also asserted that the Palestinian Authority cannot be asked to handover the killers of the Israeli minister to another country.

    "This is very unpractical. We must not ask for the impossible," he said.

    When asked if the military campaign on Afghanistan had achieved its objectives after 17 days of bombardments that left scores of civilians killed, Schuessel said the UN Security Council gave the US a mandate to fight terrorism after the death of up to 6,000 people in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington last month.

    He regretted the death of civilians in the campaign, adding that the Americans were being selective in their strikes to avoid civilian casualties.

    "But you can never be 100 per cent certain," he said. In response to a question about what the EU can do to prevent possible rift between the Arab world and US over the attacks, Mubarak said Washington should do its best to wrap up the operation as soon as possible.

    Meanwhile, the Austrian Chancellor said there was no Western intention to expand the scale of the war, but asserted that there was a strong determination to fight terrorism and staunch its sources of finance.

    "We must all cooperate in this because we're all into this together. We all suffered from terrorism and we must seek to ward it off," he said.

    The Austrian Chancellor wrapped up his visit to Egypt and left for Iran where he is planned to pursue similar talks.

    President Mubarak earlier in the day received the chief of EU foreign policy, Javier Solana, in Sharm el-Sheikh and discussed the situation in the Middle East.

    He told reporters after the meeting that his whistle-stop visit to Egypt was part of a regional tour aimed at comparing notes with other countries to ease the aggravating tension in the area.

    Commenting on the US campaign in Afghanistan, Solana said it was purely a war against terrorism, asserting that it shouldn't be considered as a clash of civilisations or religions.