By Nevine Khalil ISRAEL'S Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh paid a short visit to Cairo yesterday and met with President Hosni Mubarak to brief him on the Israeli position in the stalemated peace talks with the Palestinians. In return, Mubarak gave the Israeli envoy some "pieces of advice" on "critical issues." According to Mubarak's chief political adviser Osama El-Baz, these included the necessity of showing flexibility to make an agreement possible. Mubarak also suggested that Israel should refrain from attempting to impose ideas on the Palestinians. Naveh's visit was decided during a telephone conversation which Mubarak received from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday, and came hours before the return of US special envoy Dennis Ross to the region. Ross is expected in Cairo this weekend, depending on what progress he makes in talks with the Palestinians and Israelis. El-Baz said "the situation so far does not indicate tangible progress", but counseled that any evaluation of the peace process should be postponed until Ross completes his latest mission. "Even then, the impact of his trip will only be felt after the parties decide what they will do," he noted. Naveh told reporters that Netanyahu "is determined to reach an agreement with the Palestinians based on reciprocity". He informed Mubarak of Netanyahu's ideas for achieving progress and "Israel's views on the developments in negotiations", but he did not elaborate further. El-Baz said the time has come "to test Israel's willingness to achieve progress in the near future", emphasising that it still remains for the Israelis to "announce their position clearly and unequivocally" on the US initiative. "We would like to get back to negotiations and discussions with the Palestinians in order to reach an agreement," Naveh said. El-Baz brushed aside Israeli claims that Egypt was pressuring the Palestinians not to accept Israeli ideas. "[The Israelis] are looking for a scapegoat, so that it will not look like the Israeli side is holding up the process," he noted. Naveh also explained to Mubarak Israel's 10+3 per cent proposal, which would require the 3 per cent to be a "nature reserve", prohibiting the Palestinians from building in, inhabiting or policing the area. Officials believe that Israel is trying to give the impression that it is accepting the US initiative, by adding 10 to three to come up with the American figure of 13 per cent. Officials are also concerned that the 'three per cent' precedent could set the terms for future redeployment, where a large portion of the Occupied Territories would be handed over as "nature reserves". Mubarak also met separately yesterday with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri and Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini.
