Suleiman postpones visit to Israel for third time

Egypt's Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has once again postponed his visit to Israel, scheduled for later this week.

This is the third time that Suleiman has cancelled his arrival in the country, and a senior Egyptian official told the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that the decision was prompted by Israel's "lack of commitment to the lull in Gaza."

According to the Arabic paper, Suleiman claims that Israel is violating verbal commitments given during a visit of senior Defense Ministry representative Amos Gilad to Cairo last week.

Suleiman referred to the killing of an Islamic Jihad cell by the IDF in Bethlehem last week, despite the relative calm between Israel and the Palestinians and Egypt's intensive efforts to persuade Hamas to cease rocket attacks.

The official estimated that Suleiman's visit would be postponed by three weeks, and urged Israel to exercise restraint, in order to facilitate Egyptian efforts to mediate a comprehensive truce between the two sides, that could later lead to a resumption of the peace talks, an easing of the blockade imposed on Gaza and an internal dialogue between Hamas and Fatah.