Invoking memories of the 1973 War, Mubarak says the time has come for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement, Dina Ezzat reports In the midst of intensive calls and consultations to bring back Palestinians and Israelis to the negotiating table, Cairo urged Tel Aviv to refrain from extremist positions that could undermine the chance to reinvigorate the long stalled peace process. In an interview marking the 6 October War, President Hosni Mubarak expressed mixed feelings over the fate of the peace process. On the one hand, the president said that Israel needs to seriously walk the path of a final settlement "before the chance for peace is once again lost". But he said he was "optimistic" that the initiative of US President Barack Obama would produce positive movement towards a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement that could be "inspired by the Egyptian-Israeli model of peace". Mubarak, who made his comments to The Armed Forces Magazine, was not short on clear warnings to Israel that the continued occupation of Arab territories would block the chance for regional stability and that Israeli military might would not grant Israel the kind and quality of peace it could get if comprehensive peace is reached. Qualifying what it takes to make peace a reality, Mubarak said, "What we need now is a prompt and serious move and indeed concrete steps away from all manoeuvres and attempts to waste time." Indeed, the president insisted that any new round of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis "should pick up from where these negotiations ended" with the previous Israeli government. "It is senseless to start from scratch," he said. And as far as the president is concerned, a new round of negotiations should aim directly at reaching an agreement on the final status issues that include among other things the fate of East Jerusalem occupied by Israel in 1967, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the borders of the future Palestinian state. The ultimate objective of any peace process, Mubarak said, would be an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The president did not provide any time frame in which such an objective should be met. However, he expressed confidence that "new beginnings for the chance to make peace would come about in the next few weeks." Predicting ups and downs in whichever new course peace negotiations take in the near future, Mubarak said hard work could ultimately deliver a comprehensive settlement to the Arab- Israeli struggle. "Peace could be difficult but it is not impossible. Egypt believes that its experience in making peace with Israel offers an example to be followed." He also insisted that the aspired peace "cannot be based on the imposition of the will of one party or the other or on the enforcement of status quo arrangements. Such peace [deals] cannot last for long, and people would not accept" any unfair concessions that might be taken by their leaders. "I told Israeli leaders that no Palestinian or Arab leader could give up on East Jerusalem or the right of return of Palestinian refugees," Mubarak said. He added that he also told Israeli leaders that their call on Arab countries to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state "is putting a new stumbling block on the road to peace" because such an acknowledgement would undermine the rights of the Arab citizens of Israel. Without naming Israel, the president said that attempting to impose an unfair peace deal "would only prolong the struggle". He promptly added, "Israeli leaders must demonstrate the necessary political will" to reach a peace deal that acknowledges the requirements of international law and fulfils the vision offered by the Arab peace initiative which gives Israel the opportunity to have peaceful relations with Arabs upon the return of occupied Arab territories. Otherwise, Mubarak said, "the Israelis need to understand that the frustration that would come out of the failure to make peace would reignite a cycle of violence and counter violence and this would only shake Middle East stability" entirely. "I call on the Israeli people and leaders to make up their minds," he said. And, Mubarak stressed, it is only through peace that Israel would acquire normalisation. "Attempting to obtain the fruits of peace prematurely will not work," Mubarak said, referring to Israel's leaders. Moreover, the president warned of the consequences of the continued Israeli siege imposed on Palestinian territories while awaiting the resumption of peace talks. A similar message was sent by Mubarak in statements he made to mark the 6 October 1973 War. In his interview with The Armed Forces Magazine, Mubarak said the Palestinian-Israeli struggle was not the only problem the region faces, acknowledging serious inter-Arab disputes. He said Egypt "is pursuing true Arab reconciliation". Mubarak also made a carefully worded and clearly non- confrontational reference to the Iranian nuclear programme. He urged Iran "to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme" but insisted, in so many words and more than once, that Israel cannot be accorded preferential treatment when it comes to nuclear inspections. Mubarak reiterated his long standing call to make the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear arms included. He insisted that what goes for Iran should certainly go for Israel. And whatever happens, he said, Egypt cannot at all be portrayed as taking the side of Israel and the West against Iran. "This is simply not true." Other regional conflicts, including that of Darfur, were referred to by Mubarak as material for intensive diplomatic efforts that aim to produce fair and durable settlements. "Considerable progress on the ground" in Darfur was reported by the president.
