President Hosni Mubarak met yesterday in Sharm el-Sheikh with President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen. Abbas' visit is intended mainly to congratulate Mubarak on his full recovery after undergoing surgery in Germany last month. During the meeting the two presidents exchanged viewpoints on the recent developments in the Palestinian territories, and discussed Egyptian efforts to unite Palestinian factions and to relaunch negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. At a press conference held after the meeting, Abbas said the PNA was already taking action against an Israeli decision to expel thousands of Palestinians who live in the West Bank. "Our agreement was that the West Bank and Gaza constitute a single geographical unit under the authority of the PNA," he said. Abbas added that Israel alleges that the Palestinians it intends to deport don't carry national identity cards, even though, he argued, all Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have identity cards. Abbas said he would not allow such deportations to take place. Asked if the Palestinian Authority might turn to the United Nations Security Council in the event of failure to resume negotiations, Abbas said, "We will use all political and diplomatic means. "If all those efforts and options fail, then we will have to go to the Security Council," he said, adding that the Palestinian Authority requires the freezing of settlements as a precondition for negotiations with the Israeli side. Abbas said he hasn't so far received any positive signals from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with regard to resuming negotiations. Meanwhile, an official from Hamas dismissed the validity of reports saying that the German mediator is returning to the region to facilitate a deal to swap prisoners. Osama el-Mezeiny, another leader from Hamas, was quoted on a website associated with Hamas as saying that indirect negotiations with Israel over the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit--who has been imprisoned in Gaza for four years--are still on hold. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
