Abul-Gheit, Suleiman to visit Israel, Ramallah late this month for talks with Sharon, Arafat

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu-Gheit and Minister Omar Suleiman will visit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories by the end of this month for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

The talks with Sharon and Israeli officials will tackle steps of the Israeli withdrawal plan from Gaza and means to stop violence in the Palestinian territories.

The talks with Arafat and senior Palestinian officials will touch on means to enhance the Palestinian national unity and the issues related to cutting the security services into three especially in light of the Palestinian measures aiming at enforcing law and discipline in the Palestinian territories.

Leaders of the three Palestinian security services will be invited to visit Egypt early September as part of Egypt's efforts to help the Palestinians settle their affairs.

Abul-Gheit and Suleiman are expected to meet with senior officials of Fatah movement as part of the Egyptian efforts to enhance the Palestinian national dialogue.

President Arafat is also expected to send a delegation of Fatah movement to Egypt by early September as part of efforts to draw up a Palestinian national plan of action.

Egypt had reached an agreement with the movements of Hamas and Jihad in this regard.

Egypt has told the Palestinian factions that talks with them are part of the inter-Palestinian dialogue as a pre-step to host all Palestinian factions in Egypt by the end of September for a general dialogue.

Egypt has stressed that talks with the Palestinian factions only tackle issues relating to the Palestinian national unity and have nothing to do with issues of halting the Palestinian uprising or dismantling the Palestinian factions. Egypt also told the Israeli and Palestinian sides that in order to render its efforts a success, it is necessary to halt violence and to resume the peace talks for implementing the roadmap plan and establishing the independent Palestinian state.

Egypt also stressed the necessity to have the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of the roadmap plan, have a full Israeli withdrawal from the strip, not to reoccupy the strip and to operate the Gaza airport and seaport.