CAIRO, June 19 (UPI) -- A momentous settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in sight, and the Arab world must be prepared to act, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
"A historic settlement is within reach, one that would give the Palestinians their state and freedom from occupation while granting Israel recognition and security to live in peace," Mubarak wrote in a commentary published Friday in The Wall Street Journal. "The road to a final settlement will now require leadership and concerted effort from all sides,"
Egypt, he said, has "worked exhaustively" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and to negotiate a two-state solution.
U.S. President Barack Obama's recent speech to the Muslim world provided a turning point in U.S.-Muslim relations because it noted politics and policy, not values, separate the Muslim world and the United States.
"It is the resolution of these issues that will heal the divide," Mubarak wrote.
Successfully negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement depends on commitments by both sides to maintain the peace process's credibility, he said.
Israel's relentless settlement expansion, which has seriously eroded the prospects for a two-state solution, must cease, together with its closure of Gaza," the Egyptian leader said. "For their part, the Palestinians must continue to develop their institutional capacity while overcoming their division to achieve their aspirations for statehood."
"With President Obama's reassertion of U.S. leadership in the region, a rare moment of opportunity presents itself," Mubarak concluded. "Egypt stands ready to seize that moment, and I am confident that the Arab world will do the same."
