Mubarak confers with Israeli defense minister

President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak of Egypt today received Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai who arrived in Cairo earlier in the day on a visit to Egypt. Israeli sources added that Mordechai would ask the Egyptian president to take part in bringing about viewpoints between the Israeli and Palestinian stances concerning the volume of implementing redeployment.

The sources added that Mordechai will explain Israel's plans in this respect to President Mubarak and to pressure the Palestinians in order to reach an accord determining redeployment percentage in the second and third stages of this process, Israeli radio reported.