President Hosni Mubarak is scheduled to meet with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Thursday, the official PA news agency WAFA reported Wednesday. Abbas will discuss his recent meeting in Ramallah with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who was charged with mediating proximity talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Mitchell departed on Tuesday without convincing Abbas to resume direct talks. Saeb Erekat, the chief PLO negotiator, said the meeting at the president's Ramallah residence did not yield results. Mitchell has been mediating talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders since May 2010, which were given a four-month deadline by the Arab League. Efforts to advance the progress of the peace process and the resumption of direct talks will also be discussed. The Arab follow-up committee recently endorsed re-entering direct negotiations with Israel, which were broken off in December 2008 as Israel waged Operation Cast Lead. The committee said, however, that Abbas would have the final approval on when talks should commence. Palestinian reconciliation will also be on the agenda, with Egypt mediating a unity deal between rival movements Fatah and Hamas since the Islamist movement took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Fatah lawmaker and Revolutionary Council member Faisal Abu Shahla said Tuesday that Abbas was under pressure to return to direct talks. Fatah will not endorse direct talks until Israel and the international community established a Palestinian state on 1967 borders. "The talks are a tool to achieve a goal. The Palestinian negotiator registered honorable stances in all rounds, with categorical and frank rejections on giving up on principles, in spite of the pressure being exerted," Abu Shahla said.
