(CBC News) Mark Gollom - Michael Bell, a former Canadian ambassador to Egypt, Israel and Jordan, said the Israeli-Hamas negotiations this time probably benefited by being spearheaded by Egypt's new intelligence chief Mohammed Shehata, a longtime intelligence bureaucrat from the Mubarak regime. He is known to both sides for his role in mediating talks between Hamas and Israel regarding captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said: "What is missing here is the Israelis don't have a direct contact with the president of Egypt." "They used to talk to Mubarak but they don't talk to Morsi. The only party that appeared to be talking to everybody is Egyptian intelligence."
2012-11-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive