A senior Egyptian envoy told the Palestinian parliament today that Egypt will not rest until the Palestinians have established a state on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War.
The envoy, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, spoke in the name of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and used particularly strong language to support the Palestinians.
"It's time to see the suffering ended, to see the prisoners released and to see the Palestinian territories living in security and prosperity," said Mr Suleiman.
He was in the region to broker an agreement to monitor the movement of people and goods across the Gaza-Egypt border following Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
Mr Suleiman said the borders of a future Palestinian state should include the West Bank and Gaza, but he did not specifically mention east Jerusalem, which was also captured by Israel in 1967 and is claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.
However, he said Egypt supports a full Israeli withdrawal "and the full end of occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and the land of 1967".
Egypt and the Palestinians have had a historically rocky relationship dating back to the time Egypt controlled Gaza from 1948 until 1967. Ties were further strained when Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel more than two decades ago.
However, support for the Palestinians is strong among the Egyptian public, which will go to the polls September 7th in the country's first contested presidential election.