Morsi at the UN
Photo: AP
Brotherhood says won't meet with Israel
Muslim Brotherhood official expresses unequivocal support of Palestinian statehood bid; says progress in talks must be made prior to any official meeting
Two days after Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi
spoke before the UN General Assembly and urged action on the Palestinian statehood bid,
the Muslim Brotherhood stated that until a breakthrough is made in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, senior Egyptian officials will not meet with their Israeli counterparts.
Secretary General of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo Mahmoud Hussein told the Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm Friday that "Any meeting between the two countries' top officials prior to the full restoration of the Palestinian people's rights is a reproachable ideological luxury."
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The statement bolstered Morsi's UN statement, saying that while Egypt will abide by all of the international agreements signed by the Mubarak regime, the UN "Must end all forms of occupation of Arab land and strive for peace that includes a sovereign Palestinian state… Egypt will support any move to that effect by the PA."
Hussein told the newspaper that no one in the Islamist Cairo regime will meet with Israeli officials "Until the Zionist entity fulfills its obligations to the Palestinians. We don’t have to meet with anyone."
Israel, he added, "Must cease the daily infringements towards the Palestinians before there is any official visit, and it must stop the daily strikes on Gaza and end all settlements."
Asked what will be Egypt's response if Israel asks for meetings to discuss possible amendments to the security arrangements prevalent between Cairo and Jerusalem by proxy of the 1979 peace treaty, the Muslim Brotherhood official ties the issue to the Palestinian talks.
"This issue will not be resolved separately from the fundamental issue of Palestine. We are not looking for a partial solution."
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