President Hosni Mubarak and US Vice President Joe Biden held talks Monday on efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. It added that during the talks Mubarak urged an end to Israel's relentless siege of the Gaza Strip. Biden said the United States was seeking "new ways" to deal with Israeli-blockaded Gaza in the wake of Israel's deadly raid on an aid ship last week. "We are consulting closely with Egypt, as well as our other partners, on new ways to address the humanitarian, economic, security and political aspects of the situation in Gaza," he said. Biden, who arrived in Egypt on the first leg of his African tour on Sunday, discussed with Mubarak ways of securing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in June of 2007. Biden's visit comes a few days after a raid by Israel on a convoy of international humanitarian aid ships to Gaza last week, which killed 19 people and threatened to stall US-brokered proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians. "Mubarak urged Biden to pressure Israel to end the Gaza blockade and work for just peace settlement," MENA reported. Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza for an unlimited time to allow medical and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The talks also covered Egyptian efforts to achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation, the formation of new Iraqi government to bring about stability in the country, developments of the Iranian nuclear file, as well as the current situation in Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. Biden said on Wednesday that Israel has the right to protect its security by boarding ships heading for Gaza, but added that the United States would continue to press Israel to improve living conditions for the Palestinians. "The one thing we have to do is not forget the plight of these Palestinians there ... They're in bad shape."
