Suleiman in Israel GENERAL Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman arrived in Israel on Monday for talks with top Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Officially no announcement has been made on the agenda of the talks, however, an Egyptian source told Al-Ahram Weekly that the discussions include the Egyptian take on the developments of the proximity talks conducted by the US between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the possible avenues to break the deadlock in the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. Also to be focussed on is Egyptian concerns over the situation on the border with Gaza due to Israeli raids; the handling of the expected arrival of humanitarian relief ships coming from Istanbul loaded with food and medicine for a Gaza under siege; and the requirements of regional stability. An Israeli TV channel said Monday night that during his talks Suleiman was expected to explore with his Israeli interlocutors some ideas to revive the prisoner swap deal that should, if completed, allow for the release of a few hundred Palestinian prisoners in return for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier taken hostage by an Islamist movement close to Hamas in Gaza almost four years ago. Germany is cooperating with Egypt to conclude the deal. The German foreign minister was in Cairo earlier in the week but had no comment on the matter. Suleiman's visit to Israel comes against a backdrop of an alleged exchange between Cairo and Hamas by which the movement announced the arrest and turnover of an Egyptian intelligence officer who allegedly infiltrated Gaza to collect information on the resistance's capacity. A spokesman for the foreign minister denied the claim. Al-Hariri visits AHEAD of a meeting with US President Barack Obama on Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri arrived in Cairo this week for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. Al-Hariri's stop in Cairo came as a part of a regional tour that also included Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. The Hariri-Mubarak talks come during increasing concerns over a possible Israeli assault on southern Lebanon and Syrian targets, underlined by the new Israeli military exercise conducted this week, and on-again, off-again Israeli and American accusations concerning alleged Syrian help in arming Hizbullah. Following his talks with Mubarak at the presidential headquarters in Heliopolis on Saturday, Al-Hariri maintained a cautious tone about what the future might hold for his country. "Lebanon has to protect itself," he said. He added that the best safeguard for regional peace and security is the successful completion of the peace talks. Moussa candidacy WILL Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa agree to an Egyptian request to stay in his post beyond the May 2011 expiry of his second five-year term in office? The question was raised at a meeting Saturday between President Mubarak and Moussa at the presidential headquarters. Following his talks Moussa declined, as before, to give a firm and final answer. "I explained my position," he said in answering press questions following the meeting. The Cairo call on Moussa to agree to at least a two-year extension of his post has gained considerable Arab support but does not seem to be engaging the Arab League chief who has recently spoken up several times against any plans to keep him in his job. According to Egyptian diplomats, Cairo is worried that no other Egyptian candidate could enjoy the full support of the other 21 members of the Arab organisation. Some Arab capitals have already spoken openly, including during the recent Arab summit, of the need to break a tradition that allows for the secretary-general of the Arab League to be a candidate of the headquarters. The Arab League headquarters have been in Egypt since the league's inception except for one spell when it was relocated to Tunis during the Arab boycott of Egypt in the wake of the unilateral peace agreement signed with Israel. The call for the rotation of the seat of the Arab League secretary-generally is gaining ground in an increasing number of Arab capitals. Cairo, however, according to repeated statements by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, is still determined to keep the seat. Pakistan engaged MAKHDOOM Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the foreign minister of Pakistan, was in Cairo this week for talks with top Egyptian officials. Qureshi co-chaired the joint ministerial Egyptian-Pakistani committee with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit. The committee set the tone for the upgrade in cooperation between Egypt and Pakistan, especially in trade, commerce and alternative energy. Over 20 agreements were signed between the two sides. According to press statements made by Qureshi, a group of Pakistani businessmen accompanying him during his visit held talks and concluded tentative agreements on joint ventures. Following a meeting with President Mubarak on Sunday, Qureshi announced that Al-Sweidi Group was planning $200 million worth of projects in Pakistan. On the political side, the Qureshi talks covered major regional developments in the Middle East and South Asia. Pakistan, who like India and Israel is a de facto nuclear power, expressed understanding of the efforts being undertaken by Egypt and Arab countries to have the review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty adopt a stance on the declaration of the Middle East as a zone free of nuclear weapons. He, however, suggested that the situation in the Middle East is closely related to the situation in South Asia. Qureshi also met Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to discuss the advancement of cooperation between Islamabad and Arab countries.
