PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak said yesterday he was optimistic Arabs could make peace with Israel's hard line Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Mubarak, who hosted a meeting of Arab leaders last month which warned Israel not to back down from its peace commitments, told Egyptian television he found Mr Netanyahu very receptive" during talks in Cairo on Thursday.
It was the Israeli leader's first visit to an Arab country since he led his right wing Likud party to power seven weeks ago, calling for a tougher line in Arab Israeli peace talks.
"Most people were pessimistic and I had my fears, but I found a great hope that peace can be achieved with the Likud leader," Mr Mubarak said.
Despite few signs of concessions from Mr Netanyahu, Mr Mubarak stuck to his upbeat view of the Cairo talks, which contrasted sharply to the gloomy warnings from Arab capitals since Mr Netanyahu's May election victory.
"I believe the [peace] process will continue and although there may be difficulties from time to time I have great hope that it will continue because Netanyahu wants to reach peace," Mr Mubarak said.
Mr Khaled Salam, an aide to the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, said Mr Netanyahu gave no answers to questions crucial to peace making.
"Netanyahu used a different "language in Cairo from that which he used in front of the American Congress, naturally, because he was standing in an Arab capital and next to the head of the biggest Arab state," Mr Salam said, referring to Mr Netanyahu's trip to Washington last week.
"But he did not answer the big questions... such as his stand on Jerusalem, Jewish settlements, the fate of agreements signed with the previous government and final status negotiations."
Asked about Mr Netanyahu's opposition to returning captured Arab land, a key principle for Arabs in any peace talks, Mr Mubarak said. "I mentioned the principle of land for peace to Netanyahu and he didn't oppose it."
. Jewish settlers broke the nose of a Palestinian woman and clubbed two foreign news cameramen yesterday in clashes with Arabs protesting land seizures in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Palestinian witnesses said the clash began when about 200 Arabs carrying banners marched onto land they said settlers had taken from Qaryout village near Shilo Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank.