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Arafat Begins Talks With Mubarak Amid Violence in Palestinian Areas
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Saturday morning after he arrived amid spreading waves of violence in the Palestinian self-rule areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The meeting took place in Mubarak's private residence, instead of the presidential palace in northeastern Cairo, where such talks are usually held. Reporters have no access to Mubarak's residence.
Arafat will brief Mubarak on the bloody clashes between the Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem, in which at least seven Palestinians were killed and 220 wounded in the past two days, Palestinian representative to the Arab League Mohammad Sobeih has said.
The Palestinian demonstrations were sparked by a visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), also known to the Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem by Israeli right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon on Thursday.
Al-Haram Al-Sharif houses al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, Islam's third holiest site. The Israelis say it is the site of an ancient Jewish temple, the most sacred shrine of the Judaism. The control of sovereignty over the site lies at the core of the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
Arafat will also update Mubarak on the talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in Washington from Wednesday to Friday, Sobeih was quoted as saying by Egypt's Middle East News Agency.
No progress has been reported in the Washington talks.
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