Egyptian FM: We appreciate Israeli restraint

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed his country's appreciation of Israel's policy of restraint and efforts to empower moderates in the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement issued following the meeting held between the two leaders earlier Wednesday in Jerusalem.

According to the statement Olmert and Aboul Gheit spoke of the continuous ceasefire breaches and their implications. The PM explained the complexity of the situation due to incessant rocket attacks against Israel throughout the ceasefire and Israel's need to preserve the lives of its citizens.

The two also spoke of Olmert's upcoming meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and general Mideast developments. Olmert also stressed the importance of preventing arms smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border.

The Egyptian minister will also meet with Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and other high-ranking officials throughout the day. On the agenda, among other things, is the matter of kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Aboul Gheit also seeks to examine the formation of an Israeli-Palestinian committee which will deal with the release of prisoners; Olmert committed to such a forum in his meeting Saturday evening with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abu Abdullah, the Islamic Jihad's military wing's spokesman, responded to Israel's decision to carry out pinpointed attacks against Qassam rocket-launchers by saying that "Olmert's threats to resume targeted killings will not prevent us from continuing in the path of resistance and firing rockets. Any harm that comes to any of out leaders or leaders of the resistance will be met with a hard response on our part."