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Mubarak says Israel must revise position over peace talks and settlement-building Mubarak met with Netanyahu in Egypt today as part of an effort to revive Middle East peace talks
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday Israel needs to revise its position over peace talks and settlement-building to reach a final accord with the Palestinians. Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh as part of an effort to revive Middle East peace talks and break the impasse in the peace diplomacy, Mubarak saidIsrael must "revise its position and policy and embark on tangible procedures ... to reach a final settlement, not in stages or temporary, that ends the occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state," according to a statement released after the meeting. Mubarak said Egypt "opposed any new aggression" against Gaza, warning that any attack, suggested by "Israel's latest threats", would imperil the peace process, the statement said. Negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis broke down after Israel refused to extend a partial ten-month freeze on building settlements in the occupied West Bank, prompting the Palestinians to pull out. The freeze expired on September 26. The meeting aims to nudge the peace process forward after the United States, which sponsored face-to-face talks, said in December it failed to persuade Israel to restrict settlement building activity.Mubarak has blamed Israel for the collapse of talks in a speech to parliament in December and called on the Washington to reinvigorate the process. In December the Arab League said it rejected more talks without a "serious" peace proposal by Washington. In a statement before the talks, Netanyahu said: "I am going to speak with [Mubarak] about advancing peace and strengthening security. There are those who are trying to undermine the quiet, including various actors like Hamas and Hezbollah." Egypt's ties with Lebanon's Hezbollah have been strained since the Shi'ite movement called Cairo a "partner in crime" with Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Cairo has convicted 26 men of planning militant attacks in Egypt and said they were linked to Hezbollah, andrecently charged an Egyptian businessman and two Israelis with spying for Israel. The status of Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of Palestinian refugees are core issues Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would have to resolve to reach a peace deal.
