Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that he, as an Egyptian and an Arab,
felt very angry over the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, which entered its 30th
day on Thursday.
Mubarak made the remarks in an interview with Egypt's weekly October Magazine
to be published on Friday, the official MENA news agency reported.
Mubarak said that all regional and international parties fully understand
that the dangerous situation in Lebanon could spark a regional war, adding that
there was need to secure an urgent and unconditional ceasefire in the war-hit
country.
What Lebanon and the Palestinian territories were currently experiencing was
the immediate outcome of the Middle East peace stalemate, Mubarak said.
"A just and comprehensive peace is the only key to stability in the Middle
East region," MENA quoted Mubarak as saying.
He, meanwhile, expressed that Egypt backed the Lebanese government's
amendments to the U.S.-French draft UN Security Council resolution.
But the Egyptian president dismissed calls to cut diplomatic ties with Israel
based on its military offensive against Lebanon, saying that Egyptian-Israeli
relations served Egypt's continued efforts to try to end the crisis.
Egypt's opposition parties and some members of parliament had urged Mubarak
to freeze the peace treaty with Israel.
Egypt signed the Camp David Accords with Israel on Sept. 17, 1978 at the U.S.
presidential resort, which led to the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty
in March 1979, making Egypt the first Arab country to establish diplomatic ties
with Israel.
Israel's aggression on Lebanon has triggered widespread protest in the Arab
and Muslim world since the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict began on July
12.