(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met today (May 10) in Cairo, with the participation of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. At the end of the meeting, Foreign Minister Gheit announced that it is the intention of the Arab League preparatory team, which includes the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, to visit Israel within the next few weeks as representatives of the Arab League. This will be the first visit by official representatives of the Arab League in Israel.
In the course of the meeting, Foreign Minister Livni raised the question of the security situation in the Gaza Strip. FM Livni detailed the problems of growing Hamas military capabilities and the continual firing of Kassam rockets into Israel. She stressed that this is an unacceptable situation from Israel's point of view.
With regard to the Arab initiative, the Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of the Arab world's support of the Israel-Palestinian peace process, especially the need for pan-Arab support of moderates in the Palestinian Authority.
Minister Livni indicated Israel's desire to strengthen bilateral ties with Egypt and to increase the number of visits at the ministerial and senior official levels.