Egyptian delegation to visit Ramallah for talks with PA

High-level visit is 1st since Mubarak's ouster; senior Egyptian general to head talks focused on Hamas-Fatah dispute.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas, Fayyad at Bethlehem mass 311 AP (photo credit: AP)
Abbas, Fayyad at Bethlehem mass 311 AP
(photo credit: AP)
For the first time since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, a high-level Egyptian delegation is scheduled to visit Ramallah this week for talks with Palestinian Authority officials, a PA official revealed.
The official said that the delegation would be headed by Gen. Muhammad Ibrahim, a senior official with Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, the Mukhabarat.
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The decision to dispatch the delegation to Ramallah was taken by the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Army, which has been entrusted with running the affairs of the country since Mubarak stepped down.
The talks are expected to focus on ways for ending the Hamas-Fatah dispute and the status of the peace process, the official said.
Egypt had played a significant role in trying to end the dispute between the two rival Palestinian parties, presenting a reconciliation plan to both sides. However, Hamas and Fatah never signed the document because of disagreements on political and security issues.
Nabil Amr, a former PA minister, said that the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank was worried about the departure of Mubarak from the political scene.
“The Mubarak regime was a close ally of the Palestinian leadership and President Mahmoud Abbas,” he pointed out. “But now the Palestinian Authority is cautious because the Egyptians are preoccupied with internal problems and don’t have time for Palestinian reconciliation.”