Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir will leave for Cairo this evening to discuss preparations for Israel’s final withdrawal from Sinai next April 25. His mission, however, is to ascertain what Egypt’s political course will be after it is in full possession of the peninsula.
Shamir is going to Egypt at the invitation of Foreign Minister Kamal Hassan Aliand is expected to meet with President Hosni Mubarak, although the latter is presently ill with the flu. The question of Mubarak’s visit to Israel is likely to come up. He was originally scheduled to come here in mid-February, though a date was never announced.
The Egyptian Ambassador, Saad Mortada, said on a Voice of Israel Radio interview today that Mubarak would definitely visit Israel before the Sinai withdrawal date. He said the President was a sincere and straightforward man and had he wanted to postpone his visit he would have said so publicly. Shamir is expected to seek clarification on that issue.
EGYPTIANS ARE REASSURING ISRAEL
The Egyptians, meanwhile, are going out of their way to reassure Israel there will be no significant policy changes after the Sinai withdrawal. Cairo officials stressed that point to several visiting Israeli journalists who are Arab affairs experts. Recently, Egypt sent a youth delegation to Israel and will host an Israeli youth delegation shortly. Last week the heads of the Israeli and Egyptian television broadcasting authorities signed a cooperation agreement.
DARK CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
Nevertheless, other voices are heard which make the Israelis uneasy. The Cairo weekly. Mayo, said today that after Israel leaves Sinai, Egypt will embark on a broad diplomatic offensive in the Arab world to stress its commitment to the Palestinian cause. According to Mayo, the Israeli withdrawal will give new impetus to the lagging autonomy negotiations.
Meanwhile, Hassan Ali told the Egyptian Parliament today that while Egypt stands by its peace treaty commitments to Israel, its return to the Arab fold was inevitable. “If there are differences between Egypt and other Arab countries, they are differences between brothers and will disappear,” he declared. He added, however, that Egypt will not impose conditions and will not accept conditions imposed upon it by any country aimed at changing its policies.
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