ZAGREB: Egypt and Israel met for the first time since the January 25 Revolution while participating in a Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean conference in Croatia. Kol Israel reported that during the conference, Israel asked Hamas to accept the provisions of the Diplomatic Quartet. The conference called upon the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel to go back to the negotiation roundtable. Israeli representative Magali Wahaba, Knesset member from the Kadima party, said the settlement issue is not mentioned in the concluding statement of the conference. Ashraf Rashid, Deputy Foreign Minister for European affairs, represented Egypt at the conference. He said that his country adheres to all international conventions, including the peace agreement with Israel. The representatives of Libya, Syria, Lebanon, and Tunisia did not attend the conference for first time due to the tensions in their countries.
