Livni, Barak to discuss Shalit deal with Mubarak

Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will depart early Sunday morning to join Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the proposed truce between Israel and the Palestinian factions as well as the ongoing efforts to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad

Shalit.

Opposition Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu will catch a ride on Livni's charter plane to save costs and, likewise, is also scheduled to meet with the Egyptian president. Netanyahu is also expected to meet with the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei.

Senior State officials in Jerusalem tried to lower expectations from the impending meetings, saying that the chances of seeing an agreement or genuine progress on the Shalit front emerge from the trip are slim. Should the Egyptian's manage to broker a deal regarding Shalit's release in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may meet in private with Mubarak to authorize the details.

On Monday Barak will also meet with Egyptian intelligence chief, General Omar Suleiman, perhaps the most prominent mediator in the current round of talks seeking to bring Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza to agree on a ceasefire.

Jerusalem has been following every development in the negotiations between Suleiman and the Gaza factions. The Egyptian mediator is currently waiting for Hamas to respond to Israel's demand that Shalit's release be part of the temporary ceasefire agreement.

But Israel is also seeking to block Hamas' ever-growing strength and has dispatched Maj. Gen. (res) Amos Gilad to represent the Ministry of Defense in those talks.

In her meetings with Mubarak, Minister Livni is expected to raise a series of issues, including the porous Sinai border connecting with the Negev and the Gaza Strip, recent statements made by Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni in which he threatened to burn Israeli books and the matter of the Rafah border crossing. Barak too will discuss the crossings crisis with his Egyptian counterparts.

Livni is also scheduled to meet with a number of prominent Arab leaders and international figures attending the World Economic Forum, which is being held in Sharm. Among others, she will meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan, which is seeking to deepen its involvement in the ongoing negotiations with the Palestinians.

The forum boasts 1,500 participants, including US President George W. Bush and various other world leaders from 55 nations.