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Egyptian presidential hopeful Moussa: Treaty with Israel is safe

March 9, 2011

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League and an Egyptian presidential candidate, said he would not break his country's peace treaty with Israel.

According to several news outlets, Moussa said he would keep the treaty but would plan to renegotiate the deal supplying natural gas to Israel.

Egypt has not provided any natural gas to Israel for more than a month following an attack on the gas line between Sinai and Egypt. The attack occurred during the recent uprising by the Egyptian people that forced President Hosni Mubarak from office after 30 years.

"We cannot rebuild Egypt ... while adopting an adventurous foreign policy," Moussa said, adding that "we would be kidding ourselves" if Egyptians didn't recognize Israel as a state, The Associated Press reported, saying Moussa made the statements Tuesday.

A presidential election in Egypt is set to take place this summer, six weeks after parliamentary elections in June called by the military, which is currently in power. Moussa participated in a town hall-style meeting Tuesday in Cairo, according to The New York Times.

Moussa served for a decade as Egypt's foreign minister until 2001, when he was fired by Mubarak. Moussa's dismissal came as a result of the popularity of a song called "I hate Israel and I Love Amr Moussa," according to reports.

In his position as Arab League secretary general, Moussa has been a harsh and vociferous critic of Israel on a variety of issues.  
 

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