Egypt Not to Attend Four-Way Summit Before Israel Meets ConditionsEgypt on Wednesday ruled out participation of a summit grouping Palestinian, Israeli and US leaders before the Jewish state takes steps to end aggressions against Palestinian people.Egypt's position on this issue is that Israel must make the atmosphere suitable for a possible summit to be successful, Egyptian Information Minister Safwat el-Sharif said after a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and European Union High Representative of Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. Israel must first withdraw its forces from Palestinian areas, retract its threats and ultimatums against the Palestinians and any Arab countries, and accept an international inquiry into the clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the last two weeks, el-Sharif told reporters. Nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,000 others wounded by the Israeli forces in the clashes, triggered by a provocative visit to an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem by Israeli hardline opposition Likud leader Ariel Sharon on September 28. US officials have said that President Bill Clinton was considering to visit Egypt this week to meet with Mubarak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to discuss next steps in the Middle East peace process after the violence stops. Mubarak has informed Clinton that a summit could not take place under current conditions, el-Sharif said, adding that Mubarak has also spelled out the conditions under which Egypt will join a possible summit El-Sharif said Israel must also commit itself to not repeating aggressions against Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem's mosque compound. A four-way summit should also pave the way for negotiations on the holy sites under the relevant United Nations resolutions and the land-for-peace principle, the minister added. Mubarak said in his message to Clinton that as long as Israel does not accept the conditions, Egypt will not host a four-way summit, al-Sharif added. |
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