Mauritania’s president suggested that his country review
its peace deal with Israel. Sidi Abdallahi, who was inaugurated as
Mauritania’s head of state April 19, told an Egyptian newspaper
that a new decision may be needed on whether the African country should cut
off ties with the Jewish state. “There is an Israeli embassy present, so
this matter has to be raised and discussed and examined in a way that serves
the public interest,” Abdallah told the Al-Akhbar newspaper.Mauritania, Egypt
and Jordan are the only Arab countries to have full relations with
Israel, but all have experienced domestic pressure to trim the ties during
the past six years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Abdallahi, who replaces
a military junta as a Mauritanian civilian leader, is favored in the West.
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