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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Posted on 12/08/2004 2:26:13 PM PST by NormsRevenge
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak engaged Persian Gulf leaders Wednesday in an effort to build momentum toward peace in the Middle East, calling for support of the new Palestinian leadership and talking up the prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
Bahrain's king indicated he shared the new optimism about the peace process.
"There is an opportunity (for peace) and hopefully it will not be squandered as many have been," the king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, told reporters after Mubarak arrived in his country.
"At present the circumstances sound much more convenient and hopeful," the king added, according to the official Bahraini news agency.
Palestinian leaders also toured the region to drum up support. Newly elected PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday after a fence-mending visit to Syria. Palestinian relations with Syria, which dominates Lebanon's government, have long been strained because of the PLO's signing interim peace accords with Israel in the 1990s.
Mubarak's visits to Kuwait and Bahrain came as hopes for peace have risen because of the Nov. 11 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the prospect of Palestinian elections on Jan. 9 and a warming of relations between Israel and Egypt, which has long played a mediating role in the Palestinian conflict.
The Bush administration has approved $20 million in direct aid to help the Palestinian Authority as it prepares for the elections to replace Arafat.
The U.S. aid, allowed only by waiving existing law, is meant to help the cash-strapped and beleaguered Palestinian Authority pay its utility bills so its power will not be cut off, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday.
Egypt's semiofficial Middle East News Agency reported this week that Cairo has reached an understanding with Israel, the Palestinians, the United States and Europe on steps toward a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mubarak did not speak to reporters about his visit to Kuwait, but Egyptian Ambassador Abdul-Rahim Shalabi said the president had discussed "the possibility of resuming (Israeli-Palestinian) peace talks and the importance of supporting the new Palestinian leadership" with the emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and the prime minister, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah.
In the West Bank, Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the Egyptians had not produced a new settlement plan but were working to support a Palestinian truce, to train Palestinian security forces and to revive peace talks.
A former Egyptian ambassador to Washington, Abdel Raouf al-Reedi, said the death of Arafat had "opened a new window."
"In the West and Israel, there is an increasing realization, day after day, that they must draw an end to the Israeli Palestinian issue," al-Reedi said.
"There are strong and obvious signals that there is something new coming up between Egypt and Israel," he added.
Last week, Mubarak conferred rare praise on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, describing him as the Palestinians' best chance for peace. On Sunday, Egypt and Israel made a prisoner swap - with Egypt freeing a convicted spy and Israel releasing six Egyptian students.
On Tuesday, Israel announced that it, Egypt and the United States would sign an agreement next week that would allow Egyptian goods made with Israeli components to enter America free of tariffs.
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Associated Press reporters Diana Elias in Kuwait City and Maggie Michael and Salah Nasrawi in Cairo contributed to this story.
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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