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Mubarak Warns Against Israeli Attempt to Get Rid of Arafat
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday warned Israel of the "complicated" consequence if the Jewish state attempts to get rid of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"Israel's recent calls for actions to get rid of Arafat reflect a short-sighted policy," said Mubarak at a news conference held in the Egyptian Mediterranean port city of Alexandria after attending the graduation ceremony of the 29th batch of the Air Defense Academy's cadets.
"If Israel gets rid of Arafat, 30 or 40 new Arafats will emerge and 30 or 40 Palestine Liberation Organizations (PLOs) will also emerge," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Middle East News Agency.
Mubarak termed as "an extremely serious matter" Israeli calls for such actions, citing that "Arafat has done a lot to achieve peace. If Israel gets rid of him, it would bring about grave and dire consequences and further complicate the Mideast peace process."
Mubarak urged the Israelis and Palestinians to end violence and restart peace negotiations "as soon as possible," stressing that the Arab world has viewed peace as a strategic option.
Though the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians went into effect on June 13, sporadic shootings and confrontation between the two sides have never stopped, with each side accusing the other of failing to stick to the agreed terms.
Mubarak also called for a continuation of the U.S. and European efforts in helping ease tensions in the region and pushing forward the stalled peace process.
"Any escalation of violence in the region would not only damage the vital interests of states in the region but also those of other countries in the world," Mubarak added.
The more than nine months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed has so far left more than 600 people dead, most of them Palestinians.
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