Palestinians, Egypt Call for Timetable for Israeli Withdrawal: Roundup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 01, 2002

Palestinians, Egypt Call for Timetable for Israeli Withdrawal: Roundup

The Palestinians and Egypt have shared a common stance on the need to set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, a senior Palestinian official said Sunday in Cairo.

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The Palestinians and Egypt have shared a common stance on the need to set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, a senior Palestinian official said Sunday in Cairo.

"The message has been sent to all countries in the world, including the United States", chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters after his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"U.S. President George W. Bush's recent Mideast speech did not work out a complete plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Erekat complained.

He added that the speech delivered by Bush last Monday " unfortunately did not constitute a complete plan" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The speech gave no calendar, set no milestones... and gives no final result", said Erekat.

Erekat's visit to Egypt came at a sensitive moment when Bush made what many Arabs called a pro-Israel speech on his Mideast vision on Monday.

In the speech, Bush failed to work out a timetable for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, although he urged Israel to end occupation that began in 1967 in accordance with U.N. resolutions 242 and 338.

He also conditioned the creation of a Palestinian state on the change of the current Palestinian leadership.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has voiced support for Bush's speech, while defending the right of the Palestinians to choose their own leadership.

Mubarak has called Bush's speech "largely balanced," but demanded that some points in it be clarified and explained.

Speaking at the press conference with Erekat, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher reaffirmed Egypt's support for Arafat.

"Egypt strongly endorses the democratically elected Palestinian leadership," Maher stressed.

"There are basic elements in Bush's speech, including an Israeli pullout, an end to Jewish settlement activities and implementation of relevant U.N. resolutions," Maher said.

"Egypt, however, requests clarifications on ways to implement all these ideas," he added.

During the Mubarak-Erekat talks, the Palestinian official also conveyed a message from Arafat to the Egyptian president on the Mideast developments and reform efforts made by the Palestinian National Authority.

Later in the day, Mohammed Sobeih, Palestinian permanent delegate to the Cairo-based Arab League, told reporters that Arab countries have agreed on the Palestinian-Egyptian vision on the need to set a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders.

"Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians as well as European countries are seeking to achieve that goal," he said.

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