Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday that Egyptian actions along the Philadelphi Route harm Israel's
ability to promote the peace process with the Palestinians.
"The need to dramatically decrease the amount of arms that are being smuggled into Gaza is an Israeli strategic goal, and of course this affects our relations with Egypt," she told the committee.
"The Egyptians played a positive role at the Annapolis Conference, but that does not contradict the fact that what they are doing at Philadelphi is deplorable and problematic," Livni told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. According to the FM, these actions have ramifications for the ability of pragmatic Palestinian elements to gain control of the area.
MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) told Livni that the IDF was in possession of footage proving that the Egyptians are aiding the smuggling of weapons and terrorists into the Strip. However, he added, "the Foreign Ministry is prohibiting us from presenting the footage to the US Congress."
As for the peace process with the Palestinian Authority, Livni told the committee members "we want to reach an agreement that will secure our interests; if it won’t, we won't sign it.
"We will not allow a situation whereby there is no element on the ground that can implement the agreements," she said.
Turning her attention to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, Livni said Israel was successful in "convincing the world that the Iranian problem is a global one and also threatens the Gulf States.
During the meeting Livni presented the Foreign Ministry's goals for 2008, including "the advancement of the 'two states for two peoples' solution while safeguarding Israel's interests, continuing the initiative against Iran's nuclear program and launching an international campaign aimed at preventing terror elements from taking part in elections".
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