Palestinians could get up to $50 billion in compensation under a future peace agreement with Israel, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said Tuesday in an interview with local television.
Aboul-Gheit did not elaborate on where he had received that information, nor did he say who would supply the funds. He did say that the money – which he believes could total between $40 and $50 billion – would be designated toward building infrastructure in a nascent Palestinian state and to compensate those who lose land in an exchange with Israel.
In a separate interview on Monday with the Al-Arabiya station, Aboul-Gheit called Israel's demand to be officially recognized as a Jewish state was "a cause for concern" considering the growing Arab sector.
"Arabs make up 20% of Israel's population," Aboul Gheit told Al-Arabiya. "What will happen when they're 30%, say in 25 years?"
Aboul-Gheit also denied during that interview that there was any "political significance" to reports that Netanyahu had met separately with Egyptian President Mubarak's son's Jamal, the latter's heir apparent. "That is a lie. This is not the first time that the president's son has accompanied him, and there is no political significance."