DATE=2/19/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT/LEBANON (S&L)
NUMBER=2-259342
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flew to
Lebanon Saturday for an unscheduled visit after
holding talks with the Jordanian prime minister about
the faltering Middle East peace process. Lisa Bryant
reports from Cairo.
TEXT: President Mubarak and Lebanese President Emile
Lahoud issued a joint statement after their talks
condemning the recent Israeli air strikes on Lebanon
and declaring their support for Hezbollah guerrillas
in southern Lebanon.
The two presidents said the Hezbollah resistance was
the result, not the cause of the Israeli occupation.
President Mubarak's surprise visit to Beirut was the
first by an Egyptian leader to Lebanon in nearly 50
years. He arrived in a capital that has been rocked
by two days of protests against the United States for
its perceived support of Israeli attacks on Lebanon
earlier this month. Thousands of angry demonstrators
spilled into Beirut's streets and carried their
protest to the U-S Embassy.
/// Rest Opt for long ///
Israel's bombing raids earlier this month destroyed
three Lebanese power plants and wounded 20 Lebanese
civilians. Israeli officials said the strikes were in
retaliation for recent attacks by the Hezbollah
militia on Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli strikes have sparked protests across the
Arab world, and have drawn condemnation by Arab
leaders. That includes Egypt, which has called on the
United Nations to condemn the bombings.
On Thursday, President Mubarak personally complained
to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Foreign
Minister Amr Moussa also called in America's
ambassador to Cairo, Daniel Kurtzer, to express
Egypt's concern about the Israeli strikes.
Israeli peace talks with the Palestinians and Syrians
have ground to a virtual halt. A third round of
meetings between Israelis and Syrians slated for
January has been indefinitely postponed. And
negotiations with the Palestinians have all but broken
down because of disagreements over the Israeli troop
withdrawal from the West Bank that was due to take
place in January. (SIGNED)
Neb/lb/dw/JP
19-Feb-2000 10:50 AM EDT (19-Feb-2000 1550 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
