(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak the following during their meeting in Alexandria on Monday: Israel would not suffer continued Hizballah aggression on the northern border, with Iranian support. As far as Israel is concerned, Arafat has been, and remains, the central problem. Ben-Eliezer's "Gaza-first" plan calls for a reduction in terror and violence in Gaza in exchange for Israeli consent to the rebuilding of the Palestinian security forces and, at a later stage, the resumed entry of Palestinian laborers from Gaza to Israel. (The plan has not been endorsed by Sharon.) Ben-Eliezer thanked Mubarak for Egypt's help in the uncovering of tunnels used for smuggling arms from Egypt to the Palestinian Authority in the Rafah area of Gaza.
2002-07-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive