Egyptian diplomats say they are currently engaged in attempts to garner maximum support for the Palestinians to broker a peace deal with Israel in the hope that the long-stalled Arab-Israeli peace process can be revived, reports Dina Ezzat In presidential meetings in Cairo, and during a limited Islamic group meeting in Islamabad attended by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Cairo appeared to be attempting to orchestrate the support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will need if he enters into negotiations with Israel. Cairo is seeking to drum up the political backing Abbas requires to show the flexibility required for negotiations without being subject to criticism from Arab and Muslim countries or from the many Palestinian groups that are supported by Arab and Muslim governments. Cairo also hopes to secure financial support for the Palestinian administration, deemed essential to bolstering Abbas's credibility with his people whose support is crucial for the political decision-making -- not to mention sacrifices -- that Abbas would need to take. On Sunday President Hosni Mubarak met with Jordanian King Abdullah, and on Monday with Abbas. Abdullah stopped in Cairo before flying to Saudi Arabia and from there to Washington, were he was due to address Congress on the future of the Middle East. Abbas stopped over in Cairo following a Western tour that aimed to consolidate the as yet lukewarm reception accorded to the newly-established Palestinian unity government. Despite differences between Abdullah and Abbas over the inclusion of Hamas in determining the Palestinian tack in any negotiations with Israel, sources say both leaders agreed that it is only through strengthening the voices of moderation across the Arab and Muslim world that the Palestinians can hope to gain international sympathy. Eliminating "agitated voices" (an Arab euphemism for what Washington terms extremists) remains crucial at this point if the Israelis and Americans are to be denied pretexts to stall on the political process Cairo has been relentlessly trying to jump-start. Speaking after the Mubarak-Abdullah meeting on Sunday afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awad said that both Cairo and Jordan are hoping that the Palestinians act in a way "that really puts Israel, as an occupation power, to the test of peace and places the Quartet face to face with its responsibilities". Awad did, however, draw a line between the Jordanian position that calls on Palestinians to fully acknowledge the right of existence for Israel, relinquish arms and endorse all past Palestinian- Israeli agreements -- as the Quartet has demanded -- and the Egyptian position that "places no conditions". In an interview with Israeli TV aired before he arrived in Cairo, Abdullah urged the Palestinian unity government to meet the conditions laid down by the Quartet. "It's not just the international players but also Arab countries that expect the new Palestinian government to adhere to the policies set out by the Quartet," the official Jordanian news agency Petra reported. Abdullah is expected to convey a similar message to US President George W Bush and Congress. Jordan says it hopes that making such a position clear will deliver wide US support to Abbas. Speaking in Cairo on Monday following his meeting with Mubarak Abbas refrained from committing the new Palestinian unity government, the final composition of which has yet to be decided, to endorsing the conditions of the Quartet. According to Awad, the Quartet plans to meet in Egypt in April, following the Arab summit due to take place in Riyadh on 28 and 29 March. The meeting is then scheduled to be followed by a wider gathering that will include the "Arab Quartet -- Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates". Arab countries, Awad said, will convey their collective stance on regional peacemaking, based on agreed international parametres. Within this context, the Arab peace initiative is likely to be re- promoted within the next few weeks, ahead of the upcoming regional visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, scheduled days before the Arab summit opens. "There is active political movement but the president believes that the real test will be the ability of this movement to produce results," Awad told reporters. President Mubarak conveyed a similar message to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a phone call last Thursday. Mubarak, according to a presidential press release, insisted that there was no longer any time to waste. In the past week Cairo and Tel Aviv have engaged in high-level meetings to clarify positions over Egypt's call for the launch of final status negotiations. The result of these exchanges will be reviewed by Abul-Gheit during meetings with his counterparts from the Arab Quartet who begin to arrive in Cairo this evening for Saturday's Spring Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting. On Monday, sources say, Abul-Gheit secured renewed European support during his meeting with European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. "But we have to have the support of the Americans because without Washington's firm backing Israel is likely to continue to stall," said an Egyptian diplomatic source. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Abul- Gheit, along with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faissal and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdalillah Al-Khatib, secured agreement with the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey to declare their support for prompt action to address the "grave situation in the Middle East; and the danger of further escalation will have serious consequences for the region, the Muslim world and globally". The meeting, the initiative of Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf, brought together the foreign ministers of seven of Washington's Sunni allies. Syria and Iran, key regional players, were excluded because, in the words of one Pakistani official, they are perceived by participants as part of the problem rather than of the answer. They might be included later, he continued, when the situation is ripe, but for now such gatherings must be restricted to those who speak the language of moderation and can thus get their voice heard in Washington. In their final statement the seven foreign ministers underlined their commitment to securing Israeli withdrawal from occupied Syrian and Lebanese territory while in his opening remarks to the meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Shawkat Aziz underlined that the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme must be resolved through negotiations not force. "The ministers viewed with deep concern the dangerous escalation of tension especially over the Iranian nuclear issue. It is vital that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy," he said. The final statement recommended the group reconvene in eight weeks though it made no reference to any expansion of the number of participants. "These are like- minded states. We do not need to include other states with other views because this could lead to division and as such defies the purpose of the grouping," Abul-Gheit told reporters on Monday. Musharaf, who received the foreign ministers, is hoping that the leaders of the seven participants will meet for a summit in Mecca immediately after the Arab summit and prior to the Quartet's April meeting. The seven participants all belong to the 54- member Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). As Egyptian officials insist that while the emergence of these smaller groupings is not intended to automatically exclude those countries deemed extremist by Washington, it is better to work with those who share Cairo's pragmatic views. "The objective is clear. We do not want to get into polemics, we want to do business. We want to use the open- mindedness shown by the Americans to move towards real and conclusive action on the Palestinian front," said one informed Egyptian diplomat.
