CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has so far failed to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, to clarify his stance on a two-state solution.
“It is important for the Israeli prime minister to express in a clear manner his acceptance of the principle of a two-state solution and the vital necessity of the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
The creation of a Palestinian state constitutes “the primary aim of all the efforts exerted and the real guarantee for security and peace in the region, he said.
“We want to know the Israeli prime minister’s intentions and his understanding regarding achieving peace and ending the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, Aboul Gheit added.
Netanyahu has not publicly backed a two-state solution to which Israel committed itself under the roadmap peace plan launched by the international community in 2003.
Aboul Gheit was speaking ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Egypt next week where he is due to meet President Hosni Mubarak in his first official trip abroad since he was sworn in on March 31.
Cairo has played a key role as mediator in the Jewish state’s dealings with Palestinian militant groups, notably the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip.
But relations have become more difficult since Netanyahu took power at the head of a mainly right-wing government with controversial ultra-nationalist firebrand Avigdor Lieberman as his foreign minister. -AFP
