Egypt on Wednesday termed as "gaffe" remarks by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the Palestinian lands have not been occupied by Israel. "Rumsfeld's remarks were certainly a slip of the tongue, as he was speaking spontaneously, and not from a written text," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters.
"The whole world, including the United States and Israel, has admitted that the Palestinian lands have been occupied since 1967, and that Israel has also agreed to pull out of the territories," Maher commented.
Rumsfeld made the remarks at a Pentagon meeting on Tuesday when he said "my feelings about the so-called occupied territories are that there was a war." "Israel urged neighboring countries not to get involved in it once it started. They all jumped in and they lost a lot of real estate to Israel because Israel prevailed in the conflict," he aired. (Albawaba.com)
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