02/07/2010 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior advisor's, Yitzhak Molcho and Uzi Arad, are expected to leave for Cairo on Sunday for meetings with senior Egyptian officials ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington next week.
"This time, the talks with President Obama on the Palestinian issue are more important than ever," a senior Israeli official in Tel Aviv said Friday morning. "They will determine the future of the process in the region."
Arad, the Israeli prime minister's national security advisor, and Molcho, Netanyahu's special emissary on Palestinian issues, are scheduled to meet with Egyptian Information Minister Omar Suleiman due to the great importance Israel sees in the Egyptian involvement in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
Tel Aviv officials estimated that Netanyahu-Obama meeting on Tuesday would be important for the possibility of launching direct negotiations.
It is unclear whether Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will accompany the prime minister on his trip to Washington.
Israel is looking into options to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, through Cairo, to launch direct talks. On another front, Egypt seeks to be involved in the Israeli moves in terms of easing the Gaza blockade.
State officials estimated that Abbas' decision on whether to launch direct talks would be based on the Israeli willingness to continue its settlement construction freeze after September 26.
Obama is interested in preventing an embarrassment in case the Palestinians accept the demand, but Israel resumes construction in the occupied West Bank at the same time. Netanyahu, on his part, will try to reach a solution which would not undermine the stability of his coalition.
Amos Gilad, head of the head of Israeli Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, visited Cairo recently. Molcho and Arad's visit is aimed at examining the situation after Cairo was briefed by Ramallah about the Abbas-Obama meeting.
Egypt has stressed the importance of returning Palestinian Authority representatives to the Gaza crossings – particularly the Rafah crossing, which has been opened for 29 days now following the flotilla affair. Another issue expected to be discussed is the Egyptian initiative to resume the activity of European Union monitors.
Concerning this issue, Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported Friday that the Israeli Defense Ministry has begun preparing for the possible transfer to the PA of responsibility for the crossings into the Gaza Strip.
It said that on Wednesday night, Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, the coordinator of government activities in the territories, met with Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Authority’s minister for civilian affairs. The two men decided to establish a number of joint Israeli-PA teams to coordinate work on two issues – the renovation of the Kerem Shalom crossing and international construction projects in the Strip.
The model under which Israel would transfer control over the crossings would likely involve an international mechanism like the European Union observers, who were stationed at the Rafah crossing from 2005 until 2007, before Hamas took control there. EUBAM Rafah (The European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point) has since kept a smaller delegation (18 international members and 8 local staff, according to its Web site) on standby in Ashkelon, awaiting a political decision to redeploy the observers at one of the Gaza crossings.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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