 Prime Minster Ariel Sharon is the only Israeli leader who can make peace, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview with an Israeli newspaper. The Egyptian leader cautioned that it would be a "disastrous mistake" for Israel to isolate the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip once it completes its Gaza pullout "If you erect a fence and carry out a partition, it will be a disastrous mistake. You have to give the residents of Gaza a feeling of freedom so they won't feel like they are in a prison. If you close them up, there will be frustration, which leads to violence," he told the Yediot Ahronot correspondent in Cairo.
| On the other hand, if you close them up, they won't be exploding on your buses... |
Mubarak also said he is considering visiting Israel to attend a memorial for Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister assassinated 10 years ago by a Jewish extremist over the Oslo peace accords that Rabin signed with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "I hope to be able to come, because of my esteem and regard for Rabin," he said. Mubarak's only previous visit to Israel during his 24-year presidency was to attend Rabin's funeral. |