CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed his support of the Arab ministers meeting resolution which backed US President Barack Obama’s policy for the Middle East peace process.
Speaking after the ministerial meeting Wednesday, Aboul Gheit said, “The outcomes of the meeting fully concur with the Egyptian vision regarding the overall status of the peace achievement efforts.
“The discussion was constructive and beneficial, and revealed great common factors in the vision of the Arab states regarding the situation, especially in their positive assessment of the US role under Obama’s administration and what the US President proposed in this regard, he added.
The resolution released after the ministerial meeting stated that the Arab countries were “ready to deal positively with Obama’s proposal to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict but stressed that negotiations were virtually impossible with continued Israeli settlement expansion.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said after the meeting, “We see an open window in what the American president has said … Now there is a window of hope that was not present for at least the previous eight years.
“Obama has specific demands from both sides, Emad Gad from Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told Daily News Egypt, “From Israel he wants a freeze on settlement building and from the Arabs he wants positive movements which include amendments to the Arab peace initiative.
These include some Arab countries permitting Israeli planes over their airspace.
“The Israelis said they would not build new settlements and not appropriate Palestinian land to build further settlements but they want to continue building in settlements that are already there. The Americans are opposed to this, Gad added.
“The way ahead of the Arab side is getting clearer, Aboul Gheit said, “and now the US is expected to present its vision for the approach that could be adopted to reach a final settlement, which is good and we hope that it results in a rapid resumption of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis after the Israelis’ commitment to halt its settlement activity.
