CAIRO, January 18, 2009 (WAFA)- Egyptian President Husni Mobarak said, in the opening of Sharm Al-Sheikh consultative Summit held, Sunday, in Sharm Al-Sheikh, that the priority now is to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, in addition to opening the crossings and lifting the siege off the Gaza Strip.
President Mobarak affirmed that, “We have a fundamental goal today; to push the peace process forward, seriously and efficiently to accomplish just peace.”
On his part, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that, “the unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is a positive step that must be followed by other steps concerning withdrawal from Gaza.”
He also pointed that the participants in the summit will urge Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, because it should not stay there; its dwelling in the Gaza Strip does not at all serve the Israeli security.
Sarkozy affirmed his full support to the Egyptian initiative, saying that there will be no future for the region without the establishment of a democratic, independent Palestinian state.
