Feb 4, 2002

Mubarak in interview to the Chinese TV:
Israel does not go ahead towards peace

    Mubarak termed as impossible any attempt to halt violence fully. He said he believed that Israel completely controlled the West Bank and Gaza. " So it can arrest any person, but it insists that the Palestinian Authority arrest them," he said, referring to an Israeli demand to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to detain Palestinians suspected in slaying an Israeli cabinet minister. Israeli authorities have been confining Arafat to the West Bank of Ramallah since early December, vowing not to allow him to move freely until he detains killers of tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi "What is taking place in the Palestinian territories is disgraceful," Mubarak told the Chinese TV. "Killing, destruction and operations of subversion will under no circumstances lead to a solution ." He added that putting Arafat under siege is " a humiliating situation". "If the Israelis imagine that a solution can be reached to the Palestinian problem, without Arafat, I tell them No." The Egyptian leader warned that the ouster or elimination of Arafat would engender "horrifying consequences".

    Mubarak called on Palestinians and Israelis to sit at the negotiating table and start the enforcement of recommendations made by the fact-finding Mitchell Committee and the Tenet truce plan. He said that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had given no sign for revival of negotiations with the Palestinians. "Sitting at the negotiating table will give a ray of hope," Mubarak said in interview he gave during a recent visit to China.

    He urged Israel lift its blockade on the Palestinian self-rule areas. "They (the Palestinians) have reached a high degree of despair. When a person feels such despair, you expect him to commit suicide and kill people and himself."

    Mubarak said that the US, the Europeans and Russia should play a key role and compel the two sides to sit at the negotiating table. Citing the current Israeli government's anti-peace policies, Mubarak said he saw no solution in sight. "How can we reach a solution while Arafat is under siege in Ramallah? Arafat's plane was destroyed. The (Gaza) airport was fully destroyed. Houses were also demolished. People are living under harsh conditions." He emphasised that the way out lies in Israel's compliance with the international community's demands and its fulfilment of previously signed pacts.