Sharon agrees to Red Sea summit with Palestinians
Israeli premier Ariel Sharon has agreed to attend a summit with is Palestinian counterpart in Egypt next week, his office said today.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was en route from Turkey to Jordan and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sharon’s announcement came after he held an unexpected meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman in Jerusalem today.
Egypt is offering to host the summit on Tuesday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Sharon’s office said.
Abbas and Sharon had tentatively planned to meet on Tuesday, though no time or place had been set yet.
Israel’s Security Cabinet is to meet tomorrow to approve a series of gestures toward the Palestinians, including a limited prisoner release and a gradual handover of several West Bank towns to Palestinian control.
The Cabinet meeting was to be followed by talks between Sharon and Abbas aides on finalising an agenda for the summit. The Palestinians have said they want the summit to be well prepared and to yield results.
With Egypt offering to play host, there was a greater probability that the summit would take place.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians would want to offend Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key mediator.
If the summit is held, it would mean Sharon will be able to meet with Mubarak for the first time since becoming prime minister, a diplomatic achievement for the Israeli leader whom the Egyptian president has refused to host in the past.
Suleiman, the Egyptian intelligence chief, requested the meeting with Sharon at short notice, Israeli officials said. The talks came after the intelligence chief met the leaders of two key Palestinian militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in Cairo.
The armed groups have said they were ready to halt attacks, provided Israel halts military operations.
Suleiman’s trip to Israel and the offer to host the summit would indicate progress has been made in the talks with the militant groups.
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