Livni, Egyptian counterpart to meet in London

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will leave for London later this week for a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Friday.

A political source in Jerusalem confirmed news of the meeting, saying it was meant to ease differences between the two, after a verbal strife in mid December.

While speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Livni had slammed Egypt's monitoring of the Philadelphi route, saying that "Egypt's role in the Annapolis peace conference was a positive one, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it cannot manage the situation in Philadelphi… which in turn hindered the peace process."

Aboul Gheit reportedly responded by taking things to a personal level, saying Livni "couldn't possibly have any understanding of such matters."

Cairo and Jerusalem attempted to calm both parties, as the Egyptian Foreign Ministry formally invited two of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's senior officials – director-general Aaron Abramovich and senior advisor Tal Becker – for a visit.

Livni herself met with Aboul Gheit's top aide, Husam Azacki, in Jerusalem on Sunday. This reportedly paved the way for the London meeting.

Relations between the two ministries have returned to normal, added the source, allowing for their mutual initiatives to go ahead as planned.

Egypt has been trying to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and  Hamas  for the past few weeks. Cairo's initiative in currently being considered by Hamas, as well as several other terror organizations.

Roee Nahmias contributed to this report