Mubarak says time is right for Arab-Israeli peace

By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's "reassertion" of U.S. leadership in the Middle East offers a rare opportunity to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
In a commentary in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Mubarak said Obama was willing to take a lead in achieving peace and the Arab world would reciprocate.
"A historic settlement is within reach, one that would give the Palestinians their state and freedom from occupation while granting Israel recognition and security to live in peace," wrote Mubarak.
"Egypt stands ready to seize that moment, and I am confident that the Arab world will do the same," he added.
The U.S. State Department welcomed Mubarak's opinion piece and said the Obama administration was fully committed to working with Egypt and others to get a comprehensive peace deal in the Middle East.
"In order for this vision to become a reality all parties in the region must do their part, including Arab states," said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
The Bush administration waited until its final years in office to make a concerted effort on Israeli-Palestinian peace and was criticized by many Arabs for doing too little, too late.
SETTLEMENTS STUMBLING BLOCK
Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell has traveled four times to the region this year in a bid to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that were cut off following Israel's invasion of Hamas-run Gaza last December.
Earlier this week, Mitchell was optimistic preparations for full-blown talks would be done soon although one stumbling block has been a dispute over Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
"Israel's relentless settlement expansion, which has seriously eroded the prospects for a two-state solution, must cease, together with its closure of Gaza," said Mubarak, referring to a blockade by Israel of Gaza which is controlled by the militant group Hamas.
Egypt has been trying to broker a power-sharing deal between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and Hamas and Mubarak said the Palestinians must overcome their divisions to achieve their aspirations for statehood.
He said if Israel took "serious steps" toward peace with the Palestinians, the Arab world would do the same.
"The priority should be to resolve the permanent borders of a sovereign and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, based on the 1967 lines, as this would unlock most of the other permanent status issues, including settlements, security, water and Jerusalem," said Mubarak.
Mubarak praised Obama's speech in Cairo earlier this month, calling it a turning point in U.S. relations with the Muslim world, but also stressing it had to be followed up with "forward-looking" steps. Continued...
Source: Reuters