PNA positively considers Mubarak-Netanyahu meeting as Hamas rejects

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said on Sunday it positively considers a meeting to be held between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, while Hamas movement slammed the meeting.

Ghassan al-Khatib, chief of the Palestinian government's media center in the West Bank, told Xinhua that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mubarak "would contribute in increasing the Arab and international pressure on Israel to halt settlement and recognize the two-state solution."

According to Egyptian media, Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Cairo on Sunday evening, when he will have a Ramadan breakfast with Mubarak. It is the second visit of Netanyahu to Cairo since May.

The reports said the two leaders will discuss the Middle East peace process as well as a possible prisoners swap deal that would lead to the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

"The Palestinians are positively looking at the Egyptian efforts, either in sponsoring the file of the Palestinian inter-reconciliation or in mediating between Israel and the Palestinians to create a proper atmosphere to resume the stalled peace negotiations," said al-Khatib.

Israel said it wants to resume the peace talks, but the Palestinians insist on no resumption of peace talks before Israel completely halts settlement construction and recognizes the two-state solution, which is backed by the international community.

Al-Khatib denied there was Arab or international pressure on the Palestinian side, or on President Mahmoud Abbas, to hold a meeting with Netanyahu, adding "Arabs and the Palestinians are united in the principle of halting all settlement activities before resuming any negotiations."

Asked about the reports which slammed the Netanyahu-Mubarak meeting before Israel freezes settlement in the Palestinian territories, al-Khatib said "this meeting could be a push forward in exerting a pressure in order to achieve this goal and urge Israel to listen to the world's pressure."

However, Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, slammed the Netanyahu-Mubarak meeting, and opposed any meeting between Israel and the Arabs, labeling such meetings as "a free normalization with the occupation."

Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told Xinhua "it is clear that Israel suffers from an internal crisis and looks for an exit out of it by holding meetings with the Palestinians or with the Arab leaders," saying "this is a normalization with Israel which practices all kinds of crimes."

"Hamas doesn't support any contacts or normalization between the Arabs and Israel, which keeps committing crimes against the Palestinian people," said Barhoum. "We don't want meetings with the enemy. We want the Arabs to use an active power to force Israel to stop its crimes and end the blockade."

Barhoum called on Egypt "to use all types of pressure on the Zionist enemy in order to end its crimes, end its settlement and bring the Palestinians their legitimate rights back. We are concerned that there will be a secret deal to normalize ties with the Arabs for a temporary freeze of settlement."

Meanwhile, the Israeli media reported that Cairo made an initiative for Mubarak and Netanyahu to hold a meeting, adding "itis an interpretation of Egypt's wish to push forward the peace negotiations which had stopped since the end of 2008."

The Israeli media said "Israel hopes that Egypt would be able to put an influence on the Palestinians to convince President Mahmoud Abbas to join a three-way meeting in New York with Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama" at the end of September.

Netanyahu's visit to Cairo coincides with the tour of U.S. peace envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell who will hold talkswith Israel, the Palestinians and other Arab countries.

The United States has asked Israel to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank in order to create a positive atmosphere for the resumption of the peace negotiations and to achieve a full Arab-Israeli peace and normalization.

So far, the right-wing Israeli government has not yet accepted the freeze of settlement activities and construction into the settlements as a precondition to resume the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and the Arabs.