Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat in Cairo on Sunday. (Reuters)

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Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian presidential palace north of Cairo on Sunday morning. In a meeting attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and Palestinian negotiators Saeb Erekat and Nabil Shaath, Arafat and Mubarak discussed the "explosive situation and the provocative measures taken against Palestinian civilians," according to Moussa, who spoke to journalists afterwards.

Moussa said Mubarak briefed Arafat on his visit last week to the United States and his talks with President George W. Bush. Talking to the press, Moussa urged Israel to resume negotiations with the Palestinians from the point where they broke off, in apparent reference to one of the terms of a joint Jordanian-Egyptian proposal that Mubarak reportedly presented to President Bush.

President Mubarak's visit to Washington focused attention on Egypt's role in the peace process. Mubarak came under sharp criticism from American leaders for not pressuring Arafat to stop attacks on Israelis.

"The people in Palestine in the present situation are under siege... So the people are desperate,'' Mubarak explained, speaking to Jewish and Arab American leaders in Washington.

Mubarak has been evasive on his own role in easing the violence. In an interview conducted with Newsweek at the end of March, the Egyptian President was asked specifically if he told Arafat to stop the violence. Mubarak avoided a direct answer, instead suggesting that Arafat "can stop some [of the violence], but it is out of control. [Arafat] may have control over some but not all areas."

Though no direct dialogue is taking place between President Mubarak and Prime Minister Sharon, Mubarak told the American leaders that he has not yet passed judgment on Sharon. "I cannot say any comment against him now. I am waiting to see and I hope that he could make some progress," Mubarak said.

The lines of communication between Israel and Egypt do remain open at other levels. Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres reportedly phoned Mubarak on Saturday. According to sources in Peres's office, Mubarak said that, despite the current difficult situation, hope in peace is not lost, and he will make efforts to further the process.

In its lead editorial on April 2, the Jerusalem Post said that Mubarak could easily have set an example in easing tensions and violence in the Middle East - "first by meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, then by returning the Egyptian ambassador to Israel."

Despite being the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel and its moderate leadership stance in the recent Arab Summit in Amman, Egypt's role in the peace process can be seen as ambivalent at best. As long as Egypt refuses to take concrete steps to reduce the violence and ease area tensions, the Jerusalem Post concludes, "Egypt should be treated as part of the problem, not part of the solution."

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