Cairo denies pressure to obstruct Israeli - Palestinian agreement

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday received the secretary of the Israeli Cabinet, Danny Naveh, who informed him of US efforts made to revive peace negotiations on the Palestinian-Israeli track. This is Naveh's first visit to Cairo since May.

The visit comes amid atmospheres of tension in the relations between Egypt and Israel after the accusations made by chairman of the political planning commission at the Israeli Cabinet, David Bar-Illan, that the Egyptians want to prevent the realization of an agreement concerning redeployment in the West Bank, according to a US plan.

News reports said that Netanyahu had apologized for Mubarak in a telephone call made on Monday over Bar-Illan's statements. The reports added that Bar-Illan renewed the apology during his one-hour meeting with President Mubarak. But following the meeting, Naveh limited his statement by saying: "We will do our utmost to reach an accord with the Palestinians."

Meanwhile, President Mubarak's advisor for political affairs, Osama el-Baz, who attended the meeting said until now the situation "does not indicate that a tangible progress has been attained." He said, "No signals indicate that the two sides are close to making an accord. But the Israelis say they are ready for that. And we want to test this readiness in the forthcoming phase."

He reiterated Cairo's refusal to pressure the Palestinians into accepting proposals "that are not acceptable." El-Baz denied that Naveh had asked Mubarak for that. He added that the situation concerning the Middle East peace process will only be clear "ten days at least" after Ross' tour.

A reliable source said the reason behind Israel's accusations that Cairo obstructs the realization of an accord with the Palestinians is that the chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Ahmad Qrei (Abu Ala), who had recently held a series of meetings with Netanyahu aide Yitzhak Mulkho, had showed readiness to accept the Israeli proposal concerning redeployment.

The source added that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected the Israeli proposal and was persistent that that any accord between the Palestinian and Israeli sides should cover security issues and determine the timing of the third phase of redeployment. Arafat also demanded an Israeli pledge to stop taking unilateral measures, including settlement building.