JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will travel to Egypt next week for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, the premier s office said on Thursday as an Egyptian-mediated Gaza truce went into effect.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will leave next Tuesday for Egypt where he will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the statement said.
The two agreed to meet two weeks ago in order to discuss regional issues and address bilateral relations, it said.
The announcement came as an Israeli official said an envoy of the premier would also head to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a prisoner swap.
Israel is seeking the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, now 21, who was seized by Gaza militants in a deadly cross-border raid two years ago.
Israel knows it will have to pay a heavy price for Shalit s release and free many Palestinian terrorists, said a defence official, who asked not to be named.
The fate of the soldier has been discussed alongside the Egyptian-mediated negotations between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement that controls Gaza, which led to a truce going into effect early Thursday. – AFP
