Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has followed visits by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas by pointing a finger at Israel for the stalled “diplomatic process.” This, though the PA has refused to resume talks until Israel agrees to re-freeze construction in Judea and Samaria.
Mubarak used the parliament as a platform for a speech on Sunday in which he warned Israel that a Jewish presence in United Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria will result in violence and a threat to Israel’s security.
"We warn against the consequences of intransigence, Israel's positions and policies on the stability of the Middle East and of the world," he said. "I say that Israel must assume responsibility for the halt in the negotiations. It must know that the security of its people will come about through peace, not by force of arms or settlements."
Mitchell, always upbeat, told reporters before Mubarak's speech that he is working with the Egyptian president in an "attempt to make real progress" for a process to enable an agreement between Abbas and Israel for creating the PA as state within Israel’s borders, established as a result of the Six Day War in 1967.
"Reaching this goal will not be easy by any means," he said. "The differences between the two sides are real and they are persistent, but the way to get there is by engaging in good faith with the full complexities of the core issues and by working to narrow the gaps between the two sides."
Abbas also visited Cairo while leaning on the Arab League to strengthen his demand for a total freeze of all building for Jews on land restored to Israel in the Six-Day War.
Mubarak's comments represent a continuation of chilly relations with Israel despite the peace treaty that was signed between the two countries in 1979.
His tough talk reflects a solid hard-line stance by the Arab world. Last week, Abbas outrightly rejected Mitchell’s attempts in Ramallah to bridge gaps between him and the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He continues to refuse to consider sitting down with Israel until his demand is met for a new building freeze. From late 2009 until last September, Israel had instituted an unprecedented building freeze to met Abbas’ demands, but he rejected it as being insufficient.
Virtually all analysts and journalists covering Washington consider the “diplomatic process” a dead issue, but the Obama administration is acting as if it still is viable. The Palestinian Authority stated three days ago it is in the “deep freeze.” PA leaders are ignoring Washington’s overtures and executing a strategy, stated by Abbas a year ago, of campaigning for worldwide recognition of the Palestinian Authority based on the 1949 Armistice Lines that the Arab world has not accepted, refusing diplomatic ties with Israel with the exceptions of Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania.