Mubarak says UN impotent over Lebanon
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak warned Monday that the entire Middle East peace process could collapse because of Israel s attacks on Lebanon.
Egypt, which triggered the peace process, warns of the consequences of its collapse, Mubarak said in a nationwide televised statement. The Israeli aggression undermines the opportunities to continue it.
In his nationwide address, Mubarak said the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians was the core of the problem and so there was an urgent need to revive peace talks.
The president also warned that such a failure would create global instability.
Mubarak said on Monday that the UN Security Council had revealed its incapacity in its response to Israel s conflict with Hezbollah, and again called for an immediate ceasefire.
He also called for an urgent international investigation into the Israeli attack on the south Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday, in which at least 56 civilians were killed.
The UN Security Council met in New York on Sunday and unanimously adopted a statement deploring the Qana attack. But the United States blocked adoption of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan s call for an immediate truce.
Mubarak said, Egypt expresses its regret and annoyance at the failure to reach an immediate ceasefire … The Security Council has failed to deal rapidly and effectively with the Israeli aggression and to fulfill its responsibility for international peace and security.
This foot-dragging and impotence reflect the fundamental flaws in the joint defense system which the United Nations represents, the Egyptian president added.
Mubarak is under domestic fire from opposition groups for his refusal to revoke Egypt s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Egypt, along with Jordan and Saudi Arabia, faces outrage and protest at home against Israel s conduct.
Mubarak on Monday sent Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis. Agencies
