Mubarak says 1973 war with Israel taught valuable lessons

CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said lessons can still be learned from his country's 1973 war with Israel, including that expansionist policies lead to violence rather than stability.

Mubarak was speaking on the 30th anniversary of the October war, also known as the Yom Kippur war.

This war taught "that imperialistic tendencies and expansionism and the resultant occupation do not lead to stability or safety," Mubarak said in the televised speech. "They lead to violence and destruction, to hate between peoples, societies and religions."

Mubarak hailed the results of the war, which he said returned Egypt's self-confidence after previous wars which had left Egypt defeated and with some of its territory occupied by Israel.

The 1973 war, which began Oct. 6 when Egypt and Syria took advantage of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday to launch surprise attacks on territories occupied by Israel in previous conflicts, was a turning point for the region. It ended with a truce that led to the return of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

Peace talks between Syria and Israel broke off in 2000 following disputes over the return of Syria's Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981.

Speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Mubarak warned against any threats to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"Any escalation against the elected Palestinian leader will not serve the cause of peace," Mubarak said.

Israel announced last month that it may "remove" Arafat at any time. Demands for his ouster increased Saturday after a suicide bomber killed 19 people in Haifa. Hours after that attack, Israeli warplanes struck a target in Syria, saying the camp belonged to Islamic Jihad, which had claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

Mubarak also renewed calls that the governing of Iraq be returned to its people as soon as possible.

"We need to reach a clear timetable to return matters to normalcy in Iraq," he said. "From our side, we are willing to give whatever help we can to assist the Iraqi people to overcome this delicate stage."

He did not elaborate. Egypt has said it would not send peace keeping troops to Iraq, even with the authorization of the United Nations.

	Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arriving Sunday to inaugurate the German University in Cairo. (Reuters)