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Netanyahu meets Mubarak on Mideast talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday as the Jewish state is poised to begin indirect negotiations with the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday as the Jewish state is poised to begin indirect negotiations with the Palestinians.
Their meeting in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh comes two days after the Arab League backed proximity talks that were called off in March when Israel said it would build more settlement homes in east Jerusalem.
"The two will discuss all sorts of matters, especially the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians," an Israeli official said when the visit was announced.
It will be Netanyahu's first trip to key US ally and broker Egypt since December, and comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of another visit to the region this week by US President Barack Obama's envoy George Mitchell.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due to meet Mubarak, who is convalescing in Sharm el-Sheikh after surgery in March, on Wednesday.
The Palestinians and Israel had been set to begin indirect negotiations in March, but these were scuttled after Israel said it would build 1,600 homes in an east Jerusalem settlement.
An Arab League official said Washington had assured the Palestinians that the building plan would not proceed if they started the talks with Israel.
