According to a report published Friday in the
Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit
and the head of Egypt’s intelligence service, Omar Suliman will visit
the country at the beginning of September.
The two Egyptian officials are slated to meet with Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to
discuss issues related to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip
and parts of West Bank, the paper said.
It is likely that the Egyptian delegates will discuss with the
Palestinian leadership the unification of the Palestinian security
devices into three only, and follow up on the talks among the
Palestinian Political Parties which will pave the way for the
Palestinian Authority to take over security responsibilities after an
Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and some settlements in the West
Bank.
Cairo had already reached a deal with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and
is hoping to reach the same deal with the rest of the Palestinian
factions.
The report also said, Aboul Gheit and Suleiman are due to meet
officials from the Fatah during their visit … Arafat is expected to
send a delegation of senior Fatah officials to Egypt in the beginning
of the coming month.
It is –likely that they will also invite the heads of the security
apparatus to Egypt next September in the framework of supporting the
Palestinian Authority to reorganize the situation in the Palestinian
areas.
The main demands the Egyptians will present to Sharon revolve around
the manner of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Egypt is
insisting that Gaza ‘not become a giant prison.’ Among the demands from
Cairo are the reopening of the air and sea ports, allowing Palestinian
laborers into Israel to work, and ensuring safe passage between Gaza
and the West Bank, the paper said.
