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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Egyptian Foreign Minister's Statement, Oct. 30, 1991
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Foreign Policy Bulletin, November/December 1991
The Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, October 30-November 1,
1991. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa, October 30.
</hdr>
<body>
<p> (Excerpt) Egypt at one of its finest moments, 1973, called
for peace; in 1977, pioneered the march toward peace; in 1979,
endorsed this peace with Israel. Throughout our tireless and
undaunting efforts for peace, our position has always been and
will always be grounded in our commitment to international
legitimacy, to the U.N. Charter and its resolutions. Today we
are all the more devoted to the same principles unchanged and
unnegotiable.
</p>
<p> Ladies and gentlemen, peace, which we intend to establish,
to consolidate and safeguard, should be built on the formula
land for peace as reflected in Security Council Resolution 242
which unequivocally reaffirmed the inherent principle of the
U.N. Charter on the inadmissability of acquisition of
territories by force, and the rights of all states to live in
peace and security.
</p>
<p> This peace is based on a number of fundamentals, basics and
factors. It means right for right, obligation for obligation,
security for security, sovereignty for sovereignty. In our
conviction, this and only this can fulfill the formula peace for
peace.
</p>
<p> It is inconceivable that principles long endorsed and
internationally accepted would be renegotiated or reinterpreted,
or outbid. Complete withdrawal from all Arab territories
occupied in 1967--in the West Bank including East Jerusalem,
Gaza, the Syrian Golan Heights pursuant to Security Council
Resolution 242, and also from Southern Lebanon pursuant to
Security Council Resolution 425--is the right prelude to
promote a genuine peace with justice and dignity. Arab rights
to Arab territories cannot be compromised.
</p>
<p> Recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian
people is the prime assurance for peaceful coexistence of
Israelis, Palestinians, indeed the Arabs in their respective
homelands.
</p>
<p> Arabs did not come to relinquish their rights, accepted,
endorsed and supported by rules of international law, principles
of justice, U.N. Charter, resolutions and world consensus, nor
did they come to concede their commitments to these principles
and norms. They came in search, in good faith, with mutual
trust, for a common ground for acceptable formulas on how to
meet concerns, reconcile different demands, reach agreements
and modalities that would secure the legitimate requirements of
all parties equitably and without prejudice to the rights of any
party. We call upon Israel to do the same.
</p>
<p> Ladies and gentlemen, launching this historic peace process
should not be fettered with obstacles impeding its steady
evolution towards a comprehensive permanent settlement. Basic
fundamental requirements have to be respected and met.
</p>
<p> First: The legal status of the Palestinian people should not
be challenged. They are not just proprietors, inhabitants or
residents of conquered territories. They are people with
history, culture, distinct national identity worthy of all the
attributes of other peoples.
</p>
<p> Second: The West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights are occupied
Arab territories subject to the full implementation of Security
Council Resolutions 242. They are not also conquered
territories. They are not lands promised to other peoples. They
have their legitimate sovereigns. Claims not based on principles
of legitimacy and international law, have no place in the world
of today.
</p>
<p> Third: Settlements established in territories occupied since
1967, including Jerusalem, are illegal and more settlements will
foreclose potential progress towards real peace, cast doubts on
the credibility of the process itself. They have to be stopped
as they obstruct peace, undermine the groundwork for
negotiations on the final status of the occupied territories and
erode the will to coexist.
</p>
<p> Fourth: The Holy City of Jerusalem has its special status.
It should remain free, accessible and sacred to all followers
of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The occupying power should
not exercise monopoly, illegal sovereignty over this holy city.
Persistence of unilateral decisions declared by occupying power
to annex the Holy City lacks any validity or legitimacy. The
status of the Holy City should be subject to negotiations and
settled by agreement in the context of legitimacy established
by internationally accepted resolutions.
</p>
<p> The Arab-Israeli dispute is in essence an Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Any breakthrough or progress depends on the settlement
of the question of Palestine, in terms of rights and
territories. It also requires termination of the Israeli
occupation of the Syrian territories occupied in 1967 and
Israeli withdrawal to Syrian international borders. Progress
towards attainment of these objectives should be guided by
rationality and wisdom. It should achieve justice and equity
within the context of balanced rights and obligations on the
basis of international legitimacy--conscious, and with clear
understanding, of the historical developments.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>