Gheit: Israel must make gestures to PA
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 8, 2009
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Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Tuesday the Arab world may
normalize ties with Israel, but only if Israel freezes construction in West
Bank settlements and renews negotiations with the Palestinians.

"Is normalization possible as long as the building in settlements continues?
The answer is no, of course," Gheit was quoted by AFP as saying in a joint
press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos in
Cairo last week.

On Tuesday, Gheit spoke again to reporters after the Prime Minister's Office
said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet with Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak.

"If Israel takes a big step towards the Palestinians, a step which will
reflect its honesty and willingness for serious negotiations, only then will
Arab countries take their own steps and be ready to accept normalization,"
he said.

Earlier Tuesday the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Netanyahu will be
meeting Mubarak on Sunday in the presidential palace in Cairo.

According to a report in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida, the two leaders
will discuss Iran, captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit and negotiations
between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as recent comments made by Arab
League General Secretary Amr Moussa, who called on the Arab world to reject
normalization with the Jewish state.

The meeting was apparently planned in advance, but in contrast to other
diplomatic meeting conducted by Netanyahu recently, reporters were neither
informed of it ahead of time nor invited to join.

Word of the meeting comes after the premier "disappeared" for a period of
ten hours on Monday. According to an official statement, Netanyahu had
visited a sensitive military installation during that time. However, some
speculated that the visit was with an unnamed Arab leader.

Over the weekend, senior Hamas officials, including Damascus-based leader
Khaled Mashaal, met in Egypt to discuss developments regarding a prisoner
swap for Schalit, as well as the possibility of relaunching reconciliation
talks with Fatah and other Palestinian factions.

Although progress in negotiations for the release of Schalit has been
reported, Mashaal insisted on Saturday that a prisoner exchange was not
imminent.