The Egyptian government has apparently become involved in the effort to ensure Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak a Knesset majority for a Camp David agreement, reported the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
Egypt's ambassador to Israel Mohammed Bassiouny tried to allay the fears of the six-member Shinui faction by meeting Sunday with party leader, Tommy Lapid, amid talk that Israeli concessions in Jerusalem were at the center of tensions at the Camp David summit, said the paper.
According to Lapid, the meeting was at the ambassador's request, and Bassiouny told him it is possible to advance the negotiations with the Palestinians on condition that Jerusalem is discussed at the end, the paper added.
Lapid was also phoned by Barak from Camp David Sunday morning.
The Shinui leader said they spoke for 15 minutes about the summit, but Barak asked him not to divulge details.
However, Lapid said that "the overall impression I got was that he was not optimistic."
Barak views Lapid's party as important after it played a large role in saving him last week by abstaining in a no-confidence vote which took place right before Barak set out for the United States. Despite the persuasion effort, Shinui is split, according to the paper - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
