Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak warned Israel against launching any further attacks on the Gaza Strip during talks with the Israeli premier on Thursday, a presidential statement said, dpa reported
Mubarak met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as part of renewed efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.
Mubarak had "rejected any new Israeli offensives against the Gaza Strip, warning of the danger of Israel's latest aggressions which threaten stability in the region and the future of the peace process," the statement said.
Israel has launched a number of airstrikes on the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip in recent weeks, claiming they are in retaliation for rocket launches into Israeli territory.
Mubarak also stressed the need for Israel to stop settlement activity and build trust with Palestinian leadership in order to reach "a final settlement ending the conflict and establishing an independent Palestinian state," the statement said.
"Israel must review its positions and its policies," it continued.
Netanyahu's visit comes a day after European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Israeli officials in Jerusalem, urging them to lift the country's blockade on Gaza and calling for "urgent progress" to be made on the stalled peace process.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Ashton that before Israel lifted the blockade, the EU would first have to help stop weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.
Washington managed to launch direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in September, only for negotiations to collapse less than a month later when Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on settlement construction.
The Palestinians insist they will not return to the negotiating table as long as settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem continues
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