Blasting America's 'bias'

President Mubarak, in a lengthy outburst, condemned Ariel Sharon's belligerence as well as America's bias towards Israel, writes Nevine Khalil
In a sign of growing Egyptian impatience, President Hosni Mubarak accused the administration US President George W Bush on Sunday of "complete and blatant" bias in favour of Israel in the ongoing Palestinian- Israeli conflict.
Addressing university students in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Mubarak said Bush's hands-off policy will produce no results and urged greater American involvement in peace-making efforts.
Denouncing Israel's intransigence, Mubarak said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not know "the ABCs of politics, but only knows the language of violence and war."
Answering a student's question, Mubarak said that the "realisation of peace and stability in the region is my principal preoccupation," but described this as a "very difficult process in view of Israel's intransigence."
He said that he sent a high-level delegation, led by presidential adviser Osama El-Baz, to Washington because he felt that the United States is "oblivious to what is actually happening and to what Israel is doing. The visit was intended to clarify facts and correct misconceptions."
Gesticulating and looking disenchanted, Mubarak said: "Military operations, violence and terrorism cannot resolve any issue. The misconceptions that were dictated by Israel to the United States must be corrected. We continue to believe that the United States can play a positive role for the achievement of peace, the cessation of violence and the implementation of the recommendations of the Mitchell committee."
During the Washington visit, Mubarak said, various principles were affirmed: the United States is a principal sponsor of the Middle East peace process; the terms of reference of the Madrid process, particularly UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the land-for-peace formula, should be upheld; and the United States should go beyond the phase of issuing cease- fire appeals to the parties.
Mubarak also affirmed the importance of dispatching international cease-fire monitors to the region -- a Palestinian demand that is rejected by both Israel and the United States. "The monitors are a necessity because their presence would mean that each side will honour its commitments," Mubarak said. Continued hesitation will mean a continuation of violence, "without anybody being able to determine the aggressor," he added.
The Egyptian delegation informed the United States that "the continuation of violence will affect our interests and will have negative effects on America's interests," Mubarak said.
He noted that the Israeli defence minister boasted that the Israeli army had killed 600 Palestinians and wounded 10,000 others since the eruption of the Intifada a year ago. "We tell them," Mubarak responded, "that these actions pose a danger to both sides, Palestinians and Israelis, and not the Palestinians alone.
Indicating that it was only natural that Israel's violence would be met by Palestinian counter-violence, Mubarak continued: "How do Israeli officials think? Their actions will never realise security and stability for the Israeli people. Nobody can foretell when and where terrorism will occur. The Israelis are now afraid of frequenting public places. They throw the blame on others, but they should know that Yasser Arafat cannot control everything."
Mubarak denied Israeli claims that Egypt, on his own orders, was smuggling weapons to the Palestinians by land and sea. "Whenever Israel realises its deficiency, it always searches for a peg on which to throw the blame," Mubarak said. "Whenever something happens that they cannot confront, they look for someone, Mubarak or Arafat, to blame."
Referring to Sharon's extensive use of force, Mubarak added: "This will not realise the security which he promised the Israeli people. He should take immediate steps for lifting the blockade [on the Palestinians], so that negotiations may begin."
Mubarak warned that "in view of the blockade imposed on the Palestinians, it will be difficult to halt the violence. The blockade drives the Palestinians to despair, drives them to make all sorts of sacrifices, because there is nothing left for them. And this is bound to continue."
Looking back at the efforts of the outgoing US administration, Mubarak recalled that he had informed then President Bill Clinton that "if Arafat's decision is to regain the [occupied] territories, I will support him; if Arafat's decision is to assert Palestinian sovereignty over [East] Jerusalem, I will support him. I am fully aware that Arafat cannot accept Israeli sovereignty over [East] Jerusalem... Not a single Arab or Muslim state will accept Israeli sovereignty over [East] Jerusalem."
Mubarak said that at Camp David II, Arafat was ready to allow the Israelis to keep the Jewish quarter and the Wailing Wall, while the Palestinians would have the Islamic, Christian and Armenian quarters of East Jerusalem. "Concessions were made by both sides, but no agreement was reached because more time was needed" before Clinton's term ran out, he said.
Mubarak went on: "The Arab countries are doing the best they can. Demands for an Arab boycott of the United States are not feasible. There are many problems. The United States must act. I urge the United States anew to take a clear position on the peace process that would restore its credibility in the Arab world. Calls for self-restraint and a cessation of violence, without taking concrete action, will produce no result. For America to wash its hands of the peace process, or leave it for Israel, will have adverse consequences."
Answering another student's question, Mubarak said: "Although we differ with America on its approach to the peace process, America will remain the principal sponsor of this process. But the Jewish lobby is playing an influential role there, and the Arab lobby should make a counter-effort. We use diplomatic channels and envoys to convey our reservations to America's policy and explain the dangers of their negative position and the double standards they use in dealing with the peace process."
On the use of a double standard with regards to human rights double standards in gauging the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Mubarak said that American- European standards of human rights "cannot be imposed on the people of the Middle East. We have our customs and traditions and we cannot drop them. The United States is not the only umpire to referee Israeli violations of human rights. Other international powers have started to act against these violations. We should publicise these violations and use all methods to expose them."
"There is complete and blatant American bias in Israel's favour," Mubarak continued. "Israel is acting to drive a wedge in our relations with America," but Egypt will not fall in this trap.
Mubarak said that Sharon came to power adopting the slogan of security for Israelis. "He attempted to achieve this by suppressing the Palestinians. The result is that Israelis are living in panic, not security," he said. "The policy of blockade, starvation and demolition can only have negative consequences for Israeli security. This policy can only generate counter-violence and suicidal acts that are beyond the control of the Palestinian Authority. And the policies of targeting Palestinian leaders and occupying Palestinian property in Jerusalem, such as Orient House, also will not achieve security for Israelis."
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