Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s political advisor, Osama Al Baz, arrived Tuesday in Washington to try persuade the US government to step up its involvement in the region and halt Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
Baz will meet Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condeleezza Rice, said Al Ahram daily.
The envoy, a 25-year veteran of Middle East diplomacy, is accompanied by Egypt's ambassador to Washington, Nabil Fahmi, and by Mubarak's secretary, Majid Abdel Fatah, said the paper.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Tuesday said Israel's "colonialism" in the occupied Palestinian territories was nearing its end.
"Israeli colonialism in the land of Palestine that it has occupied since 1967 is living its last moments, in my opinion," Maher said, cited by AFP.
"We have seen throughout history that colonialism gets more brutal in its final hours," he said. "[Israel] is trying to cling to what it cannot keep, because no matter how many Palestinians it kills there will always be at least one fighting with stones, weapons and faith in his country and his rights," Maher said.
In an interview published yesterday, Haaretz newspaper quoted Baz as saying that Egypt would not close its embassy in Tel Aviv despite the escalating violence.
"We will not close the embassy unless this will benefit the Arabs. Cutting off the means of communication between us and Israel would be a mistake," he told the Arabic-language Asharq Al Awsat.
Egypt recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv in November, saying Israel was using excessive force, but the embassy remains open – Albawaba.com
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