Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid hinted to a Persian Gulf newspaper Wednesday that his country would be ready to wage war on Israel if the Arab states were to send $100 billion to fund it.
"If you want to take action, if you are ready to rise to the challenge, you must send $100 billion," the prime minister told Al Itiihad when asked why Egypt, which is "the largest Arab state," had not responded to Israel's offensive against the Palestinians.
"I told you that we wanted $100 billion," he told the paper when asked if Egypt could at least "expel the Israeli ambassador" from Cairo.
"The Arab world must allocate $100 billion from Arab coffers deposited around the world. It must say to Egypt: 'This is the national budget. This budget is at your disposal, start the confrontation'."
Mubarak: Egypt will continue policy of restraint
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Wednesday that Egypt would continue a policy of moderation and practice restraint.
"Our duty now is remain alert, act with wisdom and reason, and make sure we plan our steps without emotional overreaction," he said.
The speech marked the 20th anniversary of the full return of the Sinai peninsula to Egypt after its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
He accused Israel of using "state terrorism" to crush what he called legitimate Palestinian resistance to occupation.
Israel "has prevented aid agencies and media from entering towns, villages and refugee camps in order to conceal the brutal crimes the Israeli army committed," Mubarak said in a televised speech.
It "uses arguments equating legitimate Palestinian resistance with occupation and terrorism... to avoid its ugly Israeli practices being depicted as state terrorism," he added.
The operations "will only deepen the feelings of hatred, resentment, and the desire for revenge among not only the Palestinian people, but some 300 million Arabs," Mubarak said.
The president also said that Israel had "crossed all borders with its siege of the Church of the Nativity and the crude violation of human rights in Palestinian cities, and in the matter of Jenin and its refugee camp there."