WASHINGTON The Congress is quietly examining U.S. military aid to Egypt. after intelligence reports revealed Egyptians assisted the Palestinians in acquiring and concealing arms and weapons.

Congressional staffers said leading members of the House and Senate are holding talks in both Washington and Cairo to examine the uses of the annual $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Egypt. The staffers said Congress is considering holding an open hearing on the subject.

The effort is being pressed by both House and Senate members who argue that Cairo has failed to support the United States during the current war in Afghanistan. Some of them want to block the sale of advanced U.S. weaponry to Egypt as well as cut military aid to Cairo.

House and Senate leaders have discussed the U.S.-Egyptian military relationship in a series of talks in Cairo over the last week. On Tuesday, Sen. John Kerry, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, held a 90-minute meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"As you know, we provide a significant amount of aid here to Egypt both on the economic and military sides," Kerry said. "I want to learn how is that being implemented, how effective it is, ways which we might improve on it and how we build a relationship."

The staffers said a key issue is Egypt's role in the U.S. war against terrorism. They said House and Senate leaders were alarmed by Israeli and U.S. intelligence information that Palestinian Authority agents had bribed Egyptian customs officials to allow the Karine-A freighter to transport weapons through the Suez Canal.

The freighter, captured in the Red Sea on Jan. 3, was the latest attempt to send Palestinian weapons through the Suez Canal. But the staffers said several other weapons boats succeeded in passing through the canal without inspection.

The staffers said the Egyptian failure to stop Palestinian weapons shipment threatens the Bush administration decision to sell the Harpoon anti-ship missile to Cairo. The proposed $400 million sale has been defended by the administration as vital for Egypt's efforts to safeguard the Suez Canal.

Another concern is U.S. intelligence reports that Palestinian forces aligned with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat have stored weapons in El Arish in northern Sinai. The Sinai is under Egyptian control.

Egyptian leaders are said to have responded to congressional concerns. U.S. officials said Egypt has been cooperating with Israel in halting Palestinian smuggling from Sinai into the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Egypt has helped seal up tunnels from the Egyptian side of Rafah to the Gaza side. So far, Mofaz said, 30 tunnels have been shut down.

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