Report: Egypt refuses to convey Israeli threats to Syria

The Kuwaiti daily al-Watan issued on Wednesday quoted Egyptian political sources as saying that Egypt refused to convey Israeli threats to Syria through an urgent message sent by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that was delivered to the Egyptian ambassador in Israel, Muhammad Bassiouni.

The sources stated that Barak's message calls on Syria to immediately interfere with the leadership of Hizbullah and the Lebanese resistance to halt its escalation acts towards northern Israel.

The sources indicated that the Egyptian side refused to convey this message to Syria because it includes Israeli warnings to Syria and Lebanon and bears an Israeli threat to halt and freeze bilateral negotiations.

The sources continued that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry informed the Syrian Foreign Ministry of the need to tell Lebanon to take cautious measures against the Israeli threats, together with a promise from the Egyptian side of intensive interference from Egypt to prevent any negative Israeli escalation that threatens to reset the war and re-escalate conditions in south Lebanon.