Mubarak, Egyptian Officials, Stress Egyptian Commitment to Peace Process

Israeli journalists attending the 34th Assembly of the International Press Institute in Cairo — the first in an Arab country — received assurances from President Hosni Mubarak and other top Egyptian officials that Egypt is dedicated to its peace with Israel and to helping the overall peace process in the Middle East.

Mubarak, who granted a special interview to Davar editor Hanna Zemer yesterday, pledged that Egypt will honor all of her commitments to Israel, under any circumstances, according to Zemer’s dispatch from Cairo. He said Egypt’s current political involvement was intended to expand the peace process not to kill it. He added that improved relations between Egypt and the rest of the Arab world will not harm its relations with Israel.

In another interview, Premier Kamel Hassan Ali told the Davar editor that Egypt would not act hastily to advance the peace process because this will be an extended effort. He said it was not accurate to speak of an Egyptian initiative but rather of Egyptian ideas. Egypt will not mislead Israel and is not seeking to circumvent its peace treaty with Israel, he said.

Hassan Ali predicted improved relations with Israel. He said the Israelis have created the conditions for such improvement by their decisions to withdraw from Lebanon, to improve the quality of life for Arabs in the occupied territories and to resume the negotiations with Egypt over the disputed Taba region.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Esmat Abdel-Meguid met with the editors of Davar and the Jerusalem Post and a correspondent from Yediot Achronot. He too maintained that the peace process was an extended one and said Egypt would have chosen the course of peace even if all other parties concerned had rejected it.

HUSSEIN-ARAFAT PACT CALLED HISTORIC

Meguid said he thought the agreement between King Hussein of Jordan and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasir Arafat on a framework for peace negotiations was an historic turning point in the Middle East and should not be underestimated. What is important about the agreement, announced in Amman February II, is its contents, not interpretations of them, Meguid said. He added that no chance for peace should be missed.

The Foreign Minister cited the dispute over Taba as the number one problem of bilateral relations between Egypt and Israel. He suggested that Israelis were not aware of how important it is to the Egyptians because the disputed area is tiny.

Meguid praised Israeli Premier Shimon Peres for his role in improving relations with Cairo. The Prime Minister is doing his best. He has shown understanding and flexibility. His decision to withdraw from Lebanon is certainly another point in his favor, Meguid said.