Egypt is unfazed by Israel's intransigence, Dina Ezzat reports It was only a few days after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made clear he would not be giving Palestinians a real state and even that would only be in return for an Arab acknowledgment of "Israel as a Jewish state", that President Hosni Mubarak agreed to receive Israeli cabinet minister Ehud Barak at the presidential headquarters. On Sunday, Mubarak received Barak in what was qualified by one Egyptian source as "a business meeting" in which specific deals were discussed: the long stalled prisoners swap deal, the improvement of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, security control over the borders between Egypt and Gaza, and the possibility to restart Palestinian-Israeli talks on the management of the situation in the Palestinian territories once a national unity Palestinian government is formed. The meeting, arranged upon the request of Netanyahu, provided an opportunity for the Egyptian president to express discomfort over the Israeli discourse on the Jewish nature of Israel and the undermined status of a future Palestinian state. Mubarak had already publicly criticised the discourse, saying they could undermine any chance of resuming the peace process. No Arab country would agree to such a formula, Mubarak said. During his talks with Barak, sources suggest, Mubarak insisted it was unwise for Israeli officials to make such statements that offend Arab public opinion and put Arab capitals, which are keen to pursue peace, in a difficult position. The Netanyahu line, Mubarak also told Barak, needs to be modified because it could negatively influence the Egyptian effort to strike a national Palestinian accord between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Mubarak pressed upon his guest to relay a message of wisdom to Tel Aviv. "The president said we should all work with [US President Barack] Obama to make peace a reality because this is in the interest of the entire region," the source said on condition of anonymity. Barak, who is known to be more flexible in his manners and style than his prime minister, offered some words of assurances that Cairo received with a pinch of salt, one source said. Following his talks with Mubarak and other Egyptian officials, Barak suggested to the press that Netanyahu was willing to work with Obama, Mubarak and all leaders concerned to make a Middle East peace possible. Barak said there was a unique opportunity to make Arab-Israeli peace, however, he all but made this peace conditional on an anti-radicalism offensive that he indicated should include Islamist resistance movements and Iran. If Hamas wants to be included in future peace talks rather than in the radical group, Barak said, then it has to acknowledge Israel, give up resistance and acknowledge all previously signed peace documents between Israel and the PA. Egyptian officials argue there is no consensus within the Israeli government over the Netanyahu discourse. "This is not just our assessment but also the assessment of the US administration that has made Middle East peace a priority," said one source. Egyptian officials are hopeful that a potential prisoner swap, that could lead to the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and a few hundred Palestinian prisoners, might help strengthen the "reasonable camp within the Israeli government". The source added, "we know this is not the best [Israeli] government for peace but we have to work with what we have." Egypt and Israel are set to upgrade contacts within the next few days to serve the purpose of maintaining quiet on the ground. Egyptian officials reiterate that Obama is serious about making peace and that Egypt wants to support him in this pursuit. In an extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers that opened Wednesday morning at Arab League headquarters, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit was set to call on his counterparts not to give Netanyahu the chance he wanted to block Obama's momentum. Abul-Gheit was likely to get the support of influential Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal. In a rare article written by Mubarak, published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, the president argued peace should be pursued despite the many challenges. Under the headline "How to achieve Israeli- Palestinian peace", Mubarak argued that "the time has come to renew our commitment to address [stability and development] challenges. Among the host of challenges before us is the Palestinian issue that requires the greatest urgency, given the precarious state of the peace process after years of stalemate". Mubarak wrote, "President Obama has shown a willingness to lead to achieve peace in the Middle East. The Arab world must reciprocate with forthright leadership of its own." "The road to a final settlement will now require leadership and concerted effort from all sides." Mubarak called on Israel to show leadership by taking serious steps to end the construction of illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territories and said full normalisation with Israel was conditional on a comprehensive peace deal. He, however, said that if Israel was to take concrete steps towards peace, then "the Arab side stands ready to reciprocate serious steps." "An historic settlement is within reach," Mubarak wrote in The Wall Street Journal. In Cairo this week, Barak echoed the same assessment. In press statements on Tuesday, Abul-Gheit said Israel was now required to show flexibility so as to revive the peace process and take it to its aspired destination: a final and comprehensive settlement. According to the foreign minister, a collective Arab stance that sticks to basic Arab rights and that shows flexibility is what the Palestinians need now because a rigid situation would maintain the unhelpful status quo. "We need to open up to the willingness of the Obama administration to promote a peaceful settlement on the Palestinian track, as on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks," Abul-Gheit said.
