Egypt, the largest country in the Arab world, is the No. 2 recipient of U.S. foreign aid. Egypt's economy is in shambles -- 40% of its people are at or below the poverty line. The question is, can peace be a goal amid big economic woes?
Obama has sought to persuade Arab nations to make concessions to Israel to move the process forward, with little success thus far. Mubarak, in an interview published Monday, said it is up to Israel to take the next step. And he said he told Obama in June, at the time of his Cairo address to the Muslim world, that Israel must stop the expansion of its settlements.
"Some Arab countries that exchanged representatives and trade offices might think of reopening these offices if Israel committed itself to stop settlement expansion and to resume final status peace negotiations," Mubarak said in an interview with the state-controlled newspaper. Egypt is one of two Arab countries that have peace agreements with Israel; the other is Jordan. WaPo
