Mubarak urges Israel to resume talks

JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, saying it will boost the confidence of the Arab world.

Mubarak, who has played a vital role in trying to persuade the sides to resume peace talks, made the statements in an interview he gave to Armed Forces magazine during the weekend to mark the 36th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war.

"Israel must reconsider its policies and its way of treating the Palestinians and Arabs," al-Arab Online Web site quoted Mubarak saying.

"If Israel chooses the path of peace ... this will encourage the Arabs to have confidence in its intentions," he said.

The Arab peace initiative proposes normalization of diplomatic relations between the Arab states and Israel in exchange for a "comprehensive peace which establishes an independent Palestinian state linked to the withdrawal by Israel from all Arab lands it has occupied since 1967," Mubarak was quoted saying.

Mubarak also referred to the recent attempts by U.S. President Barack Obama to revive the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, saying he was optimistic the American president's efforts would succeed.

"Urgent and serious actions as well as concrete measures " are needed to get the peace talks back on track, Mubarak said.