By NNN-KUNA
Cairo : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak criticized strongly recently published statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Egypt’s stance with regard to the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, considering that her statements exceeded the “red lines”.
This came during an interview President Mubarak granted to the Israeli newspaper “Yediot Ahronot” which will be published Friday.
He warned that Livni’s statements have the effect of spoiling the atmosphere and relations with Israel, which he described as “very important” to Egypt.
He told the Israeli newspaper, “If you do not agree with the way we deal with the issue of the smuggling of weapons, we welcome you to do this work yourselves.”
He pointed out that he was not willing to accept Livni’s characterization of the role of the Egyptian security forces, adding that Egypt was not the source of large quantities of weapons that were transferred to the Gaza Strip.
He said Egypt was making significant efforts to deal with the issue of the tunnels by preventing smuggling through them and confiscating and seizing subversive materials. He said that these weapons were shipped by sea from somewhere.
He underscored that there is no place in the world where border controls can be 100 percent foolproof, saying ” there will be no smuggling allowed through Egypt,” and stressing that his country will not cooperate in any smuggling of weapons against Israel or against any other State.
He added that Egypt had closed so far 160 tunnels and seized dozens of tons of explosives and subversive materials and bombs, adding that if the Israelis did not appreciate Egyptian efforts in this regard, then let them look for the smugglers themselves.
On a related issue, President Mubarak described the tape sent by Israel to Washington on the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip as fabricated and the work of a computer, saying that anyone who was trying to accuse Egypt of cooperating with arms’ smugglers is a liar.
Mubarak felt that the solution to the issue of smuggling requires cooperation with Israel through the examination of each and every complaint by Israel. He noted that he spoke on this point with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak who agreed with him.”
On the issue of the downsizing of American military aid to Egypt and Israel’s role in this regard, President Mubarak said that his country does not accept dictates and conditions, pointing out that the US aid is not only in Egypt’s interest, but in the common interest of all.
Regarding the visit of President George W. Bush to the region and its impact on the peace process, Mubarak said, “the ball is not in our hands, we are only helping to bridge the gap of differences among conflicting parties.” However he stressed the importance of the visit of President Bush to push ahead the peace talks.
On the notion of an Israeli strike against nuclear facilities in Iran, President Mubarak said that a military confrontation with Iran will not solve the nuclear problem but will complicated matters more.