President Hosni Mubarak will today meet with the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, at the start of his tour of the region with instructions from U.S. President Barack Obama to start listening to the demands of the region, as the U.S. President told Al-Arab News. Upon his arrival, Mitchell met with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana in the VIP lounge of Cairo Airport so as to have an American-European coordination to resolve the crisis. Within the continued Egyptian efforts to maintain the cease-fire, Omar Suleiman yesterday met with Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to convince them to accept a total cease-fire on February 5 and to begin a national dialogue on February 22. All Palestinian factions agreed, but Hamas and Jihad did not respond yet. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said: “February 22 is not final, and we will respond in due time.” Jihad spokesman Dawoud Shehab said: “We will examine these dates.” Knowledgeable sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Hamas delegation will return to Cairo on Thursday to respond to the Egyptian proposals. For his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Abul-Gheit said: “The Palestinian factions' talks in Cairo were positive. Within the framework of the Egyptian efforts, we may reach a lasting cease-fire in the first week of February and open the border crossings.”
