Egypt, Jordan condemn separation barrier
Egyptian President Husni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abd Allah II have stated their “firm” opposition to the separation wall Israel is building through parts of Palestinian territory.
Egyptian Information Minister Safwat al-Sharif also dismissed on Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s warning on Monday that Jordan would damage its ties with Israel by joining an international campaign against the West Bank barrier.
“This statement had no effect on the Jordanian administration,” al-Sharif said after the two leaders held talks in Cairo about the Palestinian problem and the situation in Iraq.
Jordan has called for the dismantling of the separation barrier
which Israel says is to stop resistance fighters entering Israel, but which Palestinians say is a land grab.
Relationship with Syria
Aljazeera’s correspondent in Cairo reported that the Jordanian- Egyptian summit also tackled the Egyptian efforts to improve the relationship between Jordan and Syria after they deteriorated after some statements made by King Abd Allah, supporting the US position towards Syria.
Egypt and Jordan, the only Arab countries besides Mauritania to have signed peace treaties with Israel, have sought to play mediating roles in the Middle East peace process.
Mubarak and Abd Allah were also to have discussed preparations for the Arab summit scheduled for March in Tunis, which is set to tackle proposed reforms of the 22-member Arab League.
Abd Allah later left for Morocco and is then due to head to Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.