PM will ask Mubarak to urge Abbas to resume dialogue
Netanyahu heads to Egypt for talks with Egyptian president, which will also focus on Shalit deal, bolstering moderate elements in face of Iranian threat. Officials say Israel-PA talks may resume soon
Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are cautiously optimistic regarding the possibility that the peace negotiations with the Palestinians will resume in early 2010, perhaps even in a few weeks' time.
Netanyahu is expected to leave for Egypt Tuesday morning for talks with President Mubarak. His delegation will consist of National Security Advisor Uzi Arad, the PM's special envoy on the Palestinian issue, Yitzhak Molcho, his military secretary Meir Kalifi and Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
Israel's Ambassador to Cairo Shalom Cohen is also expected to attend the meeting.
Netanyahu, who initiated the meeting, is expected to ask that Mubarak pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into returning to the negotiating table. In any case, the resumption of the dialogue is expected to be announced soon following intensive efforts exerted by the US, headed by its Mideast envoy George Mitchell.
Mitchell is scheduled to return to the region after the Christmas holiday.
In November Israel declared a 10-month settlement construction moratorium, a move that is expected to be followed by an announcement from Abbas regarding his willingness to resume talks, in part due to the American pressure and also because he does not want to be seen as an obstacle to peace.
According to officials in Jerusalem, Abbas realizes that he must pursue the negotiations in order to cement Fatah's status as the leading Palestinian movement ahead of possible elections in 2010.
The talks in Cairo will also focus on the negotiations for the return of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and bolstering moderate elements in the Middle East in the face of the Iranian threat.
