|
  |
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Israel: Mubarak, Sharon to meetPalestinians: Re-election 'not good news for peace'
JERUSALEM -- Reaction to Ariel Sharon's re-election has been mixed in the Middle East, with Egypt's president congratulating the Israeli prime minister and the radical Islamic group Hamas promising to continue its fight. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak called Sharon to congratulate him on his Likud party's victory in Tuesday's election. The two leaders tentatively agreed to meet after Sharon forms a new government, the prime minister's office said. It would be the first time the two leaders met since Sharon was first elected in early 2001. Mubarak has been strongly critical of Sharon's crackdown on the 28-month-old Palestinian uprising. "The two discussed the need for the continuation of the Middle East peace process and agreed to meet after the new government is established," Sharon's office said. Egyptian officials were not immediately available for comment. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a land-for-peace deal with Israel. Mubarak has tried unsuccessfully to persuade Palestinian militant groups to agree to a year-long ceasefire on Israeli civilians. The Al-Itihad newspaper in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday quoted Mubarak as saying he would step up relations with Sharon, whom he has described in the past as "not a man of peace," The Associated Press reported. "Silence is not useful any more," Mubarak was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, many Palestinians said they feared a worsening of the situation in the Middle East in Sharon's second term. Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, told CNN Sharon's victory is "not good news for the peace process" and the Palestinians will expect "more of the same" from Israel. But he added, "in the final analysis Mr. Sharon can steer a course back to peace, and if he does so we're willing to deal with him. The question is, is he willing to deal?" Palestinian Cabinet minister Azzam al-Ahmed said Sharon would exploit a looming U.S.-led war on Iraq to "escalate his aggression against Palestinians, namely to reoccupy Gaza," Reuters reported. Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said: "You have Sharon in a new government, a war against Iraq imminent, the disappearance of the peace process, all these factors," The Associated Press reported. Nonetheless, Erekat said, the Palestinians respected Israel's democratic choice. Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said: "This is a heavy blow to a peaceful settlement. The Israelis have committed a historic mistake which they and the Palestinians will regret," Reuters reported. But Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, an aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said that the election crystallised Israeli divisions over peace strategy and that the left could rebound if the conflict dragged on under Sharon, Reuters reported. "I do not see Sharon winning as the last word from the Israeli people. What happened was governed by the nature of the moment and will not last long," he said. In Gaza, a spokesman for Hamas said his group would continue to fight the Israeli occupation. Senior Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi told Reuters that Sharon's victory strengthened Hamas's case. "It was a loss to all those who believed in peace with the Zionist entity. Escalation will be the master of the near future. Israel will escalate its aggression and Palestinians will continue to resist," he told Reuters.
"Zionists proved yesterday that they only love bloodshed of Palestinians and not peace." Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin told Reuters there was no reason for Israel to celebrate Sharon's re-election. "He (Sharon) has failed to achieve anything. He failed to achieve what he promised the people, and the people re-elected him. This is evidence that it (Israel) has started to collapse and it will end," he said. "No doubt the situation will be difficult and the confrontation (with Israel) will be difficult, but Sharon will be defeated." Hamas's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as well as attacks against the Israeli military. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
