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Arafat Holds Talks with Mubarak on Palestinian-Israeli Clashes
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday paid his third visit to Egypt in 10 days to discuss with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak the latest development as an Israeli deadline for Palestinians to stop violence approaches.
The two leaders talked about the deterioration of situation in the Palestinian territories, amid a flurry of international diplomatic activities aimed at containing the tension. Arafat returned to Gaza after the talks.
Egyptian Information Minister Safwat el-Sherif said after the meeting that Mubarak stressed the importance of securing a ceasefire, halting the deterioration in the Middle East peace process, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian-rule areas.
The world community is deeply concerned with the situation in the Middle East and has been making efforts to help defuse the tension and restart the Arab-Israeli peace talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday after talks in Syria and Lebanon.
The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was due to travel to Israel to try to use personal diplomacy to end 12 days of bloodshed in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and Israel proper.
U.S. officials have said that President Bill Clinton may visit Egypt later this week to hold talks with Mubarak, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
But the Egyptian information minister said that it was premature to talk about such a four-way summit in Egypt. What is known to all is just media reports, Sherif told reporters, adding that it was not discussed during the meeting between Mubarak and Arafat.
The Middle East peace process is entering "a difficult phase" and "is facing the danger of blowing up," Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said in an interview broadcast on Turkish private channel NTV Monday.
Moussa urged Israel to avoid provocative acts against the Palestinians and said Egypt was trying to get both sides to sit down for face-to-face talks to try to achieve a lasting and significant settlement.
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