Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu flew to Cairo on Tuesday for a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. He was accompanied by Minister of Industry & Trade (Labor) Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who maintains particularly good relations with the president and his chief of intelligence, General Omar Suleiman. In addition, Ben-Eliezer is an Arab speaker.

Following the meeting, officials released the standard mantra, that the meeting was held in a good, friendly and positive atmosphere.

Topics on the agenda included a deal for the release of Gilad Shalit, Israel’s ongoing embargo on Hamas-controlled Gaza, and renewing diplomatic talks with the PA (Palestinian Authority). The prime minister and president met for two hours while Ben-Eliezer and Suleiman held a separate meeting.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)