lennart
16-11-02, 23:08
Mubarak urges UN to pass Israel weapons resolution
By The Associated Press
CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged the United Nations Saturday to pass a resolution to ban Israel from holding weapons of mass destruction. He also accused Israel of lacking the political will to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians and end the current fighting.
Opening a new session of parliament, Mubarak referred to the resolution that the UN Security Council passed on November 8 requiring Iraq to disarm or face "serious consequences."
"We are still demanding the application of the same measures to Israel," Mubarak told the People's Assembly, whose members responded with loud applause. Israel should "get rid of all its capabilities in the field of weapons of mass destruction," Mubarak said.
He added that a region devoid of such weapons would be "one of the elements of comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East." Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear bombs, although it has never formally acknowledged being a nuclear power.
Egypt and other Arab states have called for years for the world to force Israel to forsake nuclear weapons. In a resolution on Nov. 10, the Arab League urged the Security Council to demand that Israel abandon weapons of mass destruction. Mubarak said Israel would not enjoy peace under its current leadership.
"Despite several [peace] initiatives, plans and road maps, Israel does not have the political will to enter into serious negotiations to establish a sovereign Palestinian state and to withdrawal from Syrian and Lebanese territories," Mubarak said. "Therefore, Israel is not
going to achieve the security to which it aspires, and it will remain threatened to the core."
By The Associated Press
CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged the United Nations Saturday to pass a resolution to ban Israel from holding weapons of mass destruction. He also accused Israel of lacking the political will to reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians and end the current fighting.
Opening a new session of parliament, Mubarak referred to the resolution that the UN Security Council passed on November 8 requiring Iraq to disarm or face "serious consequences."
"We are still demanding the application of the same measures to Israel," Mubarak told the People's Assembly, whose members responded with loud applause. Israel should "get rid of all its capabilities in the field of weapons of mass destruction," Mubarak said.
He added that a region devoid of such weapons would be "one of the elements of comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East." Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear bombs, although it has never formally acknowledged being a nuclear power.
Egypt and other Arab states have called for years for the world to force Israel to forsake nuclear weapons. In a resolution on Nov. 10, the Arab League urged the Security Council to demand that Israel abandon weapons of mass destruction. Mubarak said Israel would not enjoy peace under its current leadership.
"Despite several [peace] initiatives, plans and road maps, Israel does not have the political will to enter into serious negotiations to establish a sovereign Palestinian state and to withdrawal from Syrian and Lebanese territories," Mubarak said. "Therefore, Israel is not
going to achieve the security to which it aspires, and it will remain threatened to the core."