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Netanyahu meets Mubarak in Cairo Netanyahu meets Mubarak in Cairo
(about 5 hours later)
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have held talks in Cairo to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have held talks in Cairo to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Mr Netanyahu's office said afterwards "the talks were in-depth and friendly", without giving further details. Mr Netanyahu said he was "very encouraged" by the meeting, while Cairo said it had been "very positive".
The Palestinians are refusing to restart talks unless Israel stops all building in West Bank settlements. The Palestinians refuse to restart talks unless Israel halts settlements.
The two leaders are also said to have discussed the case of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held hostage by Hamas. On Monday, Israel announced plans to build 700 Jewish homes in occupied East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want their future capital.
A recent flurry of activity has prompted speculations that progress is being made on Egypt-brokered attempts to reach a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Before Tuesday's talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Israel's settlement activity cast doubt on its willingness to reach a final deal with the Palestinians.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, wants Israel to release hundreds of its prisoners in exchange for the freedom of Sgt Shalit, who was captured by militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006. Prisoner swap?
'Progress' But after the bilateral, he said Mr Netanyahu "was discussing positions that surpass in our estimate what we've heard from them in a long time".
The group said a German mediator visited Gaza last week with Israel's latest offer. "I can't say that he has come with changed positions, but he is moving forward," he added.
Gilad Shalit was seized by militants from Gaza in 2006Gilad Shalit was seized by militants from Gaza in 2006
A Hamas delegation from Gaza was travelling to Damascus to meet the movement's exiled leadership on Wednesday, Hamas officials told Reuters news agency. After returning home, Mr Netanyahu told a gathering of his Likud Party he was "very encouraged by the commitment of President Mubarak to promote the peace process between us and the Palestinians".
Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel wanted to "make progress and advance the negotiations in the near future". Israel has refused Palestinian demands for a complete halt to settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it occupied during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war.
Israel said it was willing to enter negotiations without preconditions. But it has limited building work for 10 months in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem.
It has refused Palestinian demands for a complete halt to settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it occupied during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war. Mr Netanyahu and Mr Mubarak also discussed the case of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Palestinian militant group Hamas since his capture in June 2006.
But it has limited building work for 10 months in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem - where the Palestinians want their future capital. A recent flurry of activity has prompted speculation of progress on Egyptian-brokered attempts to reach a prisoner swap deal.
In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit rebuked Israel, saying the development cast doubt on its willingness to reach a final settlement with the Palestinians. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, wants Israel to release hundreds of its prisoners in exchange for the freedom of Sgt Shalit.
Mr Abul Gheit has previously said that Egypt believes peace talks "must come either with a complete freeze of settlement activity" or "unequivocal guarantees that a Palestinian state will be established along the borders of 1967 including Jerusalem". The group said a German mediator visited Gaza last week with Israel's latest offer.
Limits But a top Hamas official in Damascus, Syria, told the Associated Press news agency that the group had refused that proposal.
Yossi Beilin, a former left-wing minister who played a key role in the 1993 Oslo peace process, said last week that Mr Netanyahu was close to agreeing that peace talks should be based on the principle of the land occupied by Israeli during the war. The Egyptian foreign minister said he understood Hamas' opposition to Israel's refusal to free "certain" prisoners, and to Israel's demand to deport others from the Palestinian territories.
The principles included "a real, albeit indirect commitment by Netanyahu to negotiate Palestinian demands to return to the 1967 borders", Mr Beilin told AFP news agency.
He also said Mr Netanyahu was willing to accept the demand that peace talks be limited to two years.
The prime minister's office has said Mr Beilin was speaking for no-one but himself.
About half a million Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967.About half a million Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.