CAIRO Ñ Egypt has agreed to a U.S. request to raise its profile to
help the Palestinian Authority restore security.
Palestinian sources said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has agreed to
renew a shuttle effort by his intelligence chief, Gen. Omar Suleiman, to
Ramallah in an effort to reduce tensions between the PA and Palestinian
insurgency groups in wake of the killing of three U.S. security personnel in
the Gaza Strip last week. The PA has launched a crackdown on insurgents in
the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip that has so far injured seven
people.
Mubarak agreed to send Suleiman to Washington to brief the Bush
administration on the tensions within the PA, the sources said. They said
Suleiman was expected to warn that U.S. pressure on the PA could lead to the
collapse of the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.
On Wednesday, Mubarak will meet visiting U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell in Cairo, Middle East Newsline reported.
The sources said Egypt wants to renew efforts for a ceasefire between
Israeli and Palestinian insurgency groups. A ceasefire declared by Fatah,
Hamas and Islamic Jihad on June 29 lasted about six weeks.
Suleiman was expected to discuss with senior U.S. officials a way to
restore order in the PA and achieve a ceasefire with Israel. Suleiman has
scheduled meetings with Vice President Richard Cheney and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice later this week.
