March 25, 2002

Mubarak to LBC Channel:
Many solutions to the Palestinian refugees issue

President Hosni Mubarak said that the Arab summit will not be affected if Palestinian President Yasser Arafat does not attend.

    In an interview with the Lebanese LBC late Tuesday, Mubarak said the Arab summit will go on normally and Arafat can send a recorded tape as if he were there.

    Mubarak said he doubted that Arafat could return home after the summit, warning that such an Israeli move could be quite dangerous.

    Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon has repeatedly said that Arafat will not be allowed back into the Palestinian territories if his address to the summit includes some kind of provocation against Israel.

    The Israelis believe that banning Arafat from returning home means there is no Palestinian Authority (PA), said Mubarak.

    Mubarak urged the Israeli government to have credibility. He voiced belief that Sharon does not want negotiations.

    Mubarak said that when Sharon assumed office, he asked for two or three weeks till he outlines a peace plan, but after three weeks the Israeli assassination of Palestinians, killing and destruction started.

    After three or four months, Sharon said he wants to end his political career with a historic peace deal, but later on, he seemed not willing to negotiate with the Palestinians, he added.

    Asked whether the departure of Sharon is better, Mubarak said the presence of Sharon as premier or another one does not concern him.

    He added that it is up to the Israeli voters to determine. The Israeli people have to settle this matter, Mubarak said, underlining his interest in regional peace and stability.

    Mubarak said he couldn’t understand Sharon’s intentions as he first wanted to have contacts with Egypt and when Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher went to Tel Aviv he returned empty-handed.

    Sharon, then, set a pre-condition for negotiations, namely a seven-day cooling-off period, Mubarak said.

    He added that he couldn’t believe Sharon is going to sit on the negotiations table.

    Mubarak said he met with Sharon in March 1982 when he was the Israeli defence and foreign affairs minister.

    "Sharon, then had invited me to visit Israel", said Mubarak. "After one week, he stormed Lebanon", he added.

    Mubarak said that he received another invitation to visit Israel that cannot be carried out while killings are underway.

    As regards Arafat’s participation in the Arab summit and guarantees that could be offered by Washington, Mubarak said the Americans do not impose anything on the Israelis.

    He added that he does not trust the Israeli's guarantees at this time.

    "The only Israeli I trusted was (late Israeli Premier) Yitzhak Rabin", Mubarak said.

    Asked about Israel Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Mubarak said he couldn’t judge Peres now, as he has no authority.

    Asked about Sharon’s readiness to attend the Arab summit instead of Arafat, Mubarak expressed belief that Arab leaders will not accept Sharon’s participation.

    Mubarak denied news reports that said Egypt does not support the recent Saudi initiative on Middle East peace.

    Such news reports had said to drive a wedge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Mubarak said.

    The Saudi initiative was at the beginning some sort of ideas that were expressed during an interview, Mubarak said.

    Egypt supported these ideas, especially that Riyadh has for the first time-expressed ideas of these kinds, he added.

    Mubarak said normalization is psychological process. Added that it starts with setting up diplomatic ties and it can not be imposed on the Arab peoples.

    "For example, the Egyptian people can not be instructed to normalize ties with Israel", said Mubarak.

    Egyptian businessmen had earlier started relations with their Israeli counterparts, but since former Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu assumed office and until now, relations were suspend he added.

    Asked whether the final communiqué of the Arab summit would adopt the Saudi initiative, Mubarak said it would be discussed during the summit meetings.

    He expressed belief that Arab leaders would accept the initiative, as it would lead to the aspired-for comprehensive peace in the region.

    " The final declaration will also address the right of Palestinian refugees to return home ", Mubarak said stressing that the UN Security Council Resolution 194 cannot be ignored.

    Asked whether the Arab summit's final communiqué would include backing to the Palestinian Intifada if Israel did not respond to the Saudi initiative, Mubarak voiced belief that Israel would never respond to peace voices, even if normalization assur onces were offered.

    Asked about Egypt’s viewpoint, Mubarak said the summit should back the Palestinian people and their Intifada.

    He added that peace initiatives should not go in details.

    Details have to be addressed on the negotiations table, he added.

    Asked whether Arafat made a mistake by refusing to sign the second Camp David deal, Mubarak said he does not take decisions for Arafat.

    "Arafat did not make a mistake", Mubarak said.

    The second Camp David included an Israeli sovereignty over AL Haram Al-Qudsi, which could not be accepted by any Arab or Islamic country, and it dropped the Palestinian refugees' right to return home, Mubarak added.

    Mubarak also reiterated that he couldn’t speak on behalf of Arafat, who is responsible before his people.

    " After the second Camp David, the Palestinian and Israelis had offered concessions but the remaining period in office for former US President Bill Clinton was too short ", Mubarak said.

    Sharon does not want to start from the point where negotiations had ended, said Mubarak. He voiced belief that Sharon could not negotiate on territories or anything else.

    Mubarak said that any Israeli premier should accept giving the Palestinians East Al-Quds as a capital of the independent Palestinian State.

    Arafat will not be able to stop violence as the Palestinians are frustrated and that is why "they commit suicide killing others with them", Mubarak stressed.

    Mubarak said these attacks are the product of terrible frustration whitch is a disaster to civilians on both sides.

    " This kind of war is more dangerous than using warplanes, tanks and artillery ", he added.

    Mubarak discarded forcing the Palestinians to flee to other countries, as it will have a costly price.

    The Palestinians will never quit their land and they commit suicide but never leave their land, Mubarak said.

    Asked why US President George, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have not met Arafat yet, Mubarak said that he discussed the issue with Bush and Cheney who had recently visited Egypt.

    Mubarak said that Jewish -Israeli pressures had prevented Cheney from meeting Arafat in the West Bank.

    Asked whether Cheney has toured the region to convince and leaders of striking Iraq. he said that all Arabs oppose such a strike.

    Asked what Arab countries could do in case of any strike Mubarak said nobody could approve to such a strike.

    He urged Iraq to allow the UN arms inspectors back as long Iraq has nothing to hide.

    Mubarak described as complicated the Iraqi- Kuwaiti case.

    He added that the Iraqis were mistaken when they turned down a good formula in the Amman summit.

    Mubarak said that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi agrees to the Saudi initiative and if he attends the summit, he will not seek to undermine it. Gaddafi’s initiative is similar to that of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah’s, said Mubarak.

    Mubarak denied the existence of any major disagreements among Arab delegations in Beirut for participation in the two-day Arab summit with the exception of the Iraqi issue.

    There are other minor disagreements and they are no problems, said Mubarak.

    He added that there are no rows on mechanisms of the Saudi initiative because when it is approved by the summit, a follow-up committee will be formed on the initiative's mechanisms.

    All Arabs agree to an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the UN Security Council Resolution 194, Mubarak said.

    Arabs want peace and they say they are ready to establish normal relations with Israel in case of its pullout from the occupied territories and solving pending issues related to Palestine, the Golan Heights and the Shebaa farms, Mubarak said.

    Asked whether US Middle East peace envoy Anthony Zinni’s presence saves Sharon and does not mean reaching an agreement, Mubarak said the return of the envoy is important.

    He added that Zinni’s presence mirrors the US interest in the region and it is not in the US interest to keep away and watch the situation further escalating.

    Asked about the visit of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad ahead of the summit, Mubarak said there is an understanding between him and Assad on the summit.

    Asked to send a message to the Lebanese people, Mubarak said Egypt’s relations with Lebanon are deeply rooted.

    Mubarak added that when the Israelis destroyed the Lebanese power plants, he talked to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and visited Lebanon.

    Mubarak said that he warned the Israelis that Egypt will not stand on the fence watching more destruction in Lebanon.

    Asked whether the Egyptian threat could reach waging war, Mubarak said war is dangerous as it weaks havoc on peoples.

    He added that war should be launched in the political domain.

    Asked whether war could be waged for Palestine and the Occupied territories, Mubarak said it is difficult as the Palestinians and Israelis live on these territories.

    Egypt lost 120,000 lives and LE. 100 billion in wars, said Mubarak.

    He added that there should be a strong reason to wage war.