Egypt slams Sharon’s decision to boycott Abbas

1/15/2005 3:00:00 PM GMT

Egypt slammed Sharon's decision to cut all ties with the newly elected Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas, saying that this move wouldn’t help peace efforts in the Middle East and that Abbas doesn’t possess a “magic wand” to end the armed resistance.

Israel announced late Friday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wouldn’t meet Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, until he stops Palestinian attacks.

Sharon’s decision came one day after six Israelis were killed in a Gaza attack organized by three Palestinian resistance groups.

Presidential spokesman, Soleiman Awad, told journalists in Cairo on Saturday that "Seizing the current opportunity ... to re-launch the peace process can never happen by taking decisions of boycotting Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority,"

"Rather, it (will happen) through continuing dialogue and coordination," said Awad.

“Magic wand”

The United States also demanded Abbas to bring the Palestinian fighters under control.

But Awad stressed that the international community, including the U.S., must “realize that Abu Mazen does not possess a magic wand with which he can stop the violence overnight".

"But he can exert all efforts with support from the international community, politically and economically." He added.

Egypt is playing a major role in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and is promoting dialogue between Palestinian parties.

"Wrong decision"

Abbas, sworn in as a president on Saturday, condemned the latest Palestinian attack as well as Israel’s military operations in the occupied territories, saying that they do not "contribute to the peace process."

However, Abbas didn’t refer to Israel’s new decision in his inauguration speech.

But Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, said that Israel’s decision to severe ties with the Palestinians is a “wrong decision and shows that Israel is trying to find any excuse to disrupt any serious effort that leads to reviving the peace process and to achieving calm,"

Sharon was widely expected to meet soon with Abbas, who was elected on January 9, to negotiate security coordination ahead of Israel’s planned pullout from the Gaza Strip as well as discussing a possible revival of stalled peace talks.

Israel and the United States had considered Abbas as someone they could talk to, after years of boycotting the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom they accused of encouraging Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

Arafat always denied the allegations.