Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Wednesday condemned Israeli aggressive practices and excessive use of military force against the Palestinian people, institutions and infrastructure, the official news agency MENA reported.
Abul Gheit made the remarks in New York while addressing a ministerial meeting on the Palestinian cause, held by the Nonalignment Movement on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, MENA said.
According to MENA, the Egyptian top diplomat called on the international community to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people in the current stage.
He also urged Israel to lift the economic siege on the Palestinian people, halt the establishment of settlements and respond to international resolutions.
Early Wednesday, Israeli forces arrested seven Palestinians in the West Bank, including a senior member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, who was accused of killing two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah in 2000.
Abul Gheit also talked about the upcoming international conference on Mideast peace, expressing hope that the conference would contribute to achieving a development in the Palestinian file.
He called on Israel to make use of the Arab consensus on the Arab Peace Initiative reinitiated by Arab leaders during their 19th summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in March.
The initiative, first approved in 2002 by the Arab summit, offers to extend recognition to Israel by all Arab countries provided that it withdraws from all Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 six-day war, including East Jerusalem.
On July 16, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed to hold an international conference, which would include Israel, the Palestinians and some neighboring Arab states, to help resume the stalled Middle East peace talks.
Source: Xinhua
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