Mubarak Sends Message to BarakEgyptian President Hosni Mubarak Monday sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak after talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Egypt's Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Mohamed Orabi who convened the message to Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Zvi Mazel said this is a response to Barak's message the previous day. But he did not disclose details of Mubarak's message. In his message, Barak called on Mubarak, who has developed very friendly relations with Arafat, to "persuade Arafat to help restore calm and security in the West Bank and Israel as quickly as possible." Arafat, who frequently come to Cairo for consultations with Mubarak, had just finished a round of talks with Mubarak earlier in the day. During his talks, 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-ruled areas, Egyptian Information Minister Safwat el-Sherif said. About 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,000 others wounded by Israeli security forces in 12 days of bloody clashes triggered by the provocative visit of Israeli hawkish opposition Likud party leader Ariel Sharon to a disputed Jerusalem shrine, holy to both Jews and Muslims. Barak threatened on Saturday that he would consider the peace process dead if the Palestinians did not halt protests and clashes with Israeli forces by Monday evening. The Palestinian side rejects the threat, insisting that Israel take steps to stop the violence. |
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