The provision of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty on security in Sinai needs to be reviewed, presidential hopeful Amr Moussa said Tuesday.
At a meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt on Tuesday, Moussa said Egypt’s relations with Israel are governed by the Arab Peace Initiative, which was approved at the 2002 Beirut Summit of the Arab League.
The initiative calls for normalization of relations between Israel and Arab states if Israel completely withdraws from the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and resolves the Palestinian refugee crisis.
Moussa added that Egypt is committed to the stipulations of the peace treaty with Israel, but that several provisions need to be reviewed, including those on security in Sinai.
The former Arab League secretary general also addressed the current controversy over the composition of the recently selected constituent assembly.
“If 25 percent society rejects the constitution, then this should be considered a veto against it,” he said.
“Egypt’s constitution cannot be approved unless it receives the consensus of the people,” he went on, stressing that it will establish a new state based on “democracy and the rule of law.”
Regarding economic policy, Moussa said half of all Egyptians suffer from poverty, which requires that the state subsidy system be maintained but reviewed to ensure that its allocations reach the neediest targets.
Egypt needs to reform its laws to reassure investors and motivate them to start new projects, Moussa said.
Translated from MENA
