Egypt's peacemaking efforts have borne some fruit, writes Nevine Khalil Click to view caption In a stepped up effort to jump start the peace process, Cairo's Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman met with top Palestinian and Israeli officials on Sunday and Monday. Last week, President Hosni Mubarak said he was sending peace envoys to speak with the Palestinians and Israelis in the wake of US President George W Bush's statement on peace in the Middle East. Suleiman travelled to Ramallah and Israel on Sunday with ideas for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe Katsaf, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and other officials. Mubarak sent his Chief Political adviser Osama El-Baz and Suleiman several times over the past few weeks to speak with officials on both sides in an effort to bring about a breakthrough in the stagnant peace process. Suleiman's visit this week appears to have finally revived talks, especially that Arafat is pursuing the reform of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in earnest. As a result of both endeavours, Peres and Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayad met Monday night, and contacts between the Palestinians and Israelis are expected to be upgraded and intensified. Sharon allowed Peres to contact Fayad and the new Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel-Razeq Al-Yehya, saying they were not involved in "terrorism". Peres wanted to meet Mahmoud Abbas, a PLO Executive Committee member and Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qorei but Sharon refused. While Cairo has kept all channels open with the US administration, Mubarak is expected to travel to France towards the end of July to talk with President Jacques Chirac on the European position regarding the current state of affairs in the region. Mubarak met with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal yesterday to consult on Arab efforts after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri on Sunday. Al-Hariri, who briefly stopped over in Cairo, told reporters that his visit aimed to discuss "the critical situation in the region." He had arrived from Saudi Arabia and headed back there after spending two hours in Cairo. On Sunday, Suleiman met with the Israelis first and then headed to Ramallah for talks with the Palestinians. The Israeli press reported that he called on Israeli leaders to launch negotiations with the Palestinian leadership on the economic, security and political tracks simultaneously. Suleiman reaffirmed to the Israelis that Egypt considers Arafat the elected leader of the Palestinians and that they must "co-exist with Arafat in order to make progress in the political process, especially that Arafat is committed to undertaking reforms within the PA". He further told the Israelis they must withdraw from all the territories they occupied at the start of the Intifada on 28 September 2000. Meeting Arafat later on Sunday, Suleiman discussed with the president some ideas and what role Egypt could play in ending the Israel siege of Palestinian territories. Arafat briefed the Egyptian envoy on the deteriorating situation and the crimes being committed by the Israelis on a daily basis. Expressing his gratitude for Mubarak's efforts to contain the crisis, Arafat also reviewed with the intelligence chief the latest steps taken to reform the PA and restructure the Palestinian security apparatus. Palestinian Minister for International Cooperation Nabil Shaath said Egypt was exerting "a huge effort" to end the 22- month crisis by discussing ideas with the two sides and bringing them back to negotiations. Egypt has been asked to present the PA's demands and position during next Monday's Quartet meeting in New York which will bring together the representatives of the US, EU, UN and Russia. It will be the first time that Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are invited to attend a Quartet meeting. Shaath said the demands included the immediate evacuation of Israeli troops from Palestinian villages and towns, an end to the siege imposed on Palestinian areas, a halt to Israelis attacks and progress on the political track.
