ALEXANDRIA: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak during talks with President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday voiced rare praise for Egypt s efforts to stem weapons smuggling into the Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
Barak hailed Egyptian efforts along the porous border which have visibly been effective, said a statement from the Israeli defense ministry after the talks at one of Mubarak s palaces in Alexandria.
But Barak also said that more effort should be put in order to further reduce weapons smuggling into Gaza which has been effectively sealed off by Israel since Hamas took over in June 2007.
Israel has in the past repeatedly accused Egypt of not doing enough to combat the tunnels used to smuggle weapons, food, fuel and cigarettes into the impoverished territory.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who attended the talks, said Mubarak had asked for more cooperation in improving the (humanitarian) situation especially as the holy month of Ramadan approaches, an important event for Muslims, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In June, an Egyptian-brokered truce brought a virtual halt to fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters and near-daily rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel.
Hamas had said the truce would lead to the lifting of the siege, which Israel has in turn linked to progress on the release of Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured in a bloody cross-border raid by Gaza militants in June 2006.
Barak called Shalit s release paramount and said Egypt is a central player in efforts to secure his freedom, but did not elaborate.
Hamas has offered to exchange Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including several who were implicated in deadly attacks on Israelis, but so far Israel has rejected this. -AFP
