Algeria confirms it held secret talks with Israel for years

Tuesday, August 10, 1999

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Algeria and Israel have held secret meetings since the mid-1980s, an Algerian newspaper said.

The newspaper reported last month that President Chadli Bin Jedid began contacts with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The report has been confirmed by Israeli officials. The Al Watan daily said that Peres met several times with an Algerian intelligence official in Paris in contacts arranged by Israel's ambassador in France.

Al Watan said a delegation from Israel's Health Ministry visited Algeria in 1994. It said Israel and Algeria engaged in trade which began "five years ago with an Israeli company based in Morocco." The newspaper said an Israeli delegation was planning a visit to Algeria over the next few months to boost trade.

Meanwhile, Algerian Interior Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said he expected an upsurge of Islamic violence despite efforts at reconciliation with the opposition. "There are still hardliners but they are a minority with a limited capacity," Sellal told state television. "However, they are bent on a scorched earth policy."