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Egyptian foreign minister says Israel must advance peace

11 November 2010 01:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit said Wednesday that Israel has not taken sufficient steps to move forward with the Palestinians in forging a peace deal, APA reports quoting Earth Times.

"We are concerned, because we feel that Israel is not doing what is required on the Israeli side to do," Gheit said at a brief press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Israel’s announcement this week of plans to build more settlements in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians envision as the capital of a future state, has angered the Arab world. The Palestinians have refused to rejoin peace talks since an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlements expired September 26.

Clinton expressed disappointment toward the plans when she announced new aid to the Palestinian Authority earlier Thursday. She continued to urge both sides to continue negotiations despite differences on settlements.

"There can be no progress until they actually come together and explore where areas of agreement are and how to narrow areas of disagreement," she said, standing near Gheit.

The two diplomats discussed Iraq, Lebanon and a Sudanese referendum scheduled for January on southern secession.