Arafat in Cairo for Talks with Mubarak on Mideast PeacePalestinian leader Yasser Arafat arrived in Cairo on April 7 evening for discussions with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the Middle East peace process.Arafat, who came from Jordan, was accompanied by his top aides Saeb Erekat, Nabil Shaath and Nabil Abu Rudeina, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported. Arafat and Mubarak are expected to deal with the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and prospects of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks after hardline Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took office on March 7, the news agency said. Mubarak is also expected to brief him on a four-day visit to the United States ending on Thursday, during which the Egyptian leader held talks with US President George W. Bush and senior officials on ways of reviving the Middle East peace process. The Egyptian leader called on the US administration to contribute effectively to the Mideast peace process. Arafat is a frequent visitor to Egypt to discuss the Middle East peace process with Mubarak, who has been playing a key mediating role in resolving the more than half-century Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israeli violation of an Islamic holy shrine in East Jerusalem last September sparked the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli bloody clashes, which have left 450 people, most of Palestinians, and thousands of others injured. |
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