ISLAMABAD, April 1: The Egyptian ambassador to Pakistan Dr Mahmoud El-Said on Monday condemned the escalation of Israeli state terrorism against the Palestinians and warned Israel against attempts to harm President Yasser Arafat stating that such actions would only fuel violence in the region.
Addressing a news conference here, the Egyptian ambassador observed that Israel was acting like a rogue state in defying all civilized norms and violating all international instruments of law and justice.
“It is a case of brutal, criminal, and humiliating occupation that drives people to total hatred and frustration,” the ambassador said warning the world not to be misled by the false Israeli pretext of self-defence for stepping up the aggression in Israeli occupied Palestinian territory.
The ambassador hinted that plans were now afoot for the Arab world to get together and initiate a consultative process to agree on a joint course of action to bring the Israeli aggression to an end. He said the OIC Conference on Terrorism that opened in Kuala Lumpur on Monday will be overshadowed by the events in the Middle East.
Responding to a question about the prospects of an Arab- Israel war, the ambassador said: “We hope not. It will open gates of hell for all the peoples in the region.”
He said military aggression will not solve the issue, adding that violence only breeds violence. He said the world must not remain oblivious of the blatant rejection by Israel of peace and just settlement.
He stressed the need to reaffirm international legitimacy and respect of international norms and laws that were being completely disregarded by Israel.
Asked if Egypt would snap diplomatic ties with Israel to exert pressure on the latter, the ambassador said that his country’s leadership was keeping all options open. “Egypt will not be rash and take the necessary decision when required.”
He pointed out that Egypt had withdrawn its ambassador from Israel about six month ago. Currently Egypt and Jordon are the only two Arab countries which have diplomatic ties with Israel. The ambassador said that Israel had “neither the vision nor the wish for peace in the Middle East.”
He said Israel’s atrocities in the Israeli occupied territory left little room for optimism for a peaceful settlement of the stand-off in Middle East.
He said it was clear that Israel has “no vision or wish to negotiate. That the current government wanted to freeze status quo for a long period of time.”
“Those who open the gates of hell will feel the heat first, warned the ambassador referring to the increase in Israeli aggression.
However, he said: “We do not condone killing of innocent civilians on both sides, Islam values human life.” He regretted the international community’s passivity and silence on this grave issue. He warned that any attempt to ignore the root cause of terrorism will jeopardize security and stability in the region. “Israel should learn a lesson from history that you cannot crush the will of people,” the ambassador concluded.