Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak charged Wednesday that Israel is jamming the peace process with negative signals that make it difficult, if not impossible, for him to mediate peace between Israel and Syria.
The Egyptian leader, interviewed on Israel Television’s weekly talk show Moked, blamed Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who, he said, has reacted with a “no” to every concession asked of Israel.
“Shamir must erase this word from his vocabulary,” Mubarak said. Otherwise there might be no negotiations with Syria.
“With declarations that the Golan is not up for negotiations and with the continued settlements, how do you expect Assad to trust you?” asked Mubarak, referring to Syrian President Hafez Assad.
Mubarak, who has never met with Shamir, ruled out a meeting at this time.
He said there would be no point as long as there is no assurance of progress. An unsuccessful summit would result in tension and worsening relations between Egypt and Israel, Mubarak said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
