By Xinhua,
Cairo : Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday highlighted the importance of putting an end to the situation in the Gaza Strip by means of Arab troops deployment, the official MENA news agency reported.
“Having Arab troops on the ground could help prevent fighting and confrontations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,” Abul Gheit was quoted as saying in an interview with local October magazine.
There is a need to probe “such attractive idea” of having Arab troops dispatched to the Gaza Strip to put an end to the situation there, he said, adding the idea has not been put up for discussion yet, but it should be taken seriously.
Abul Gheit also talked about the Egyptian dialogue with the Palestinian factions which aims at ending the state of internal division.
Egypt started the first sessions of the dialogue which extends to a number of rounds and would hopefully lead up to an agreement that takes the Palestinians to a new stage and pave the way for bringing the situation back to normal, he noted.
The Egyptian top diplomat stressed that the Gaza Strip is currently governed by Hamas and the situation is not normal as Cairo believes that the Palestinian National Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas should regain control of the strip.
Abul Gheit revealed that he held a telephone conversation with U.s. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, during which Rice said Washington is still seeking an agreement to be reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis and announced in September.
The United States is still committed to the agreement, Abul Gheit said, adding Egypt is following up the situation as it is being constantly informed of the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.