Mubarak, Netanyahu for ME indirect talks

Egypt: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the start of indirect talks between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority (PA), though showing strict silence about their dialogue.

Mubarak received Netanyahu in Sharm El-Sheikh resort, Egypt, and they held closed-door talks to examine ways to implement the negotiation process backed over the weekend by the League of Arab Nations.

A brief report of official MENA news agency said that both leaders “examined the latest regional events and Egypt’s international efforts to pave the way to indirect talks.”

Those talks are expected to lead to a solution with two States (one Palestinian, one Israeli), predicted the source, in spite of skepticism prevailing in Arab diplomatic circles due to Tel Aviv’s intransigence with the Jewish settlement issue.

The head of the rightist Israeli Government travelled to Egypt with the hope that Mubarak would persuade PNA President Mahmoud Abbas to speed up contacts already approved by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

Egypt which maintains relations with Israel, has an active mediating role to play. Cairo, Prensa Latina