President Hosni Mubarak and the King of Bahrain held talks in Cairo yesterday on the latest regional developments with special focus on the current Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestinian territories.

During their meeting, President Mubarak and King Hamad bin Eissa al-Khalifa discussed the means to stop Israeli aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) said.

Following the talks at Cairo International Airport, King Khalifa issued a statement expressing his full appreciation to President Mubarak for serving Arab causes and standing firm in defending Arab rights.

He said that his visit came at a critical time during which “our brothers in Lebanon and Palestine are under Israeli aggression”, which necessitates unified Arab action to stop the violence and military escalation against “our people”.

The statement added that the King of Bahrain and President Mubarak reviewed all means to form a unified Arab stance on the present and future challenges, push forward the peace process and restore confidence in peacemaking.

“The present development and the tough challenges we are facing today require the Arabs to draw a clear-cut strategy to preserve peace and stability, reach a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Palestinian cause to stop Israeli escalation in Palestine and Lebanon,” the statement added.

Earlier in the day, President Hosni Mubarak held talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to discuss internationally brokered efforts to end now eight days of fighting between Israel and Hizbollah.

Mubarak-Solana talks, which were also attended by the Finnish Ambassador in Cairo, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, dealt with Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, President Mubarak received Thursday Ahmed Gaddaf AI-Dam, the coordinator of the Libyan-Egyptian relations. Coordination between Cairo and Tripoli is going on over various regional issues, Gaddaf Al-Dam said after the meeting.

They Libyan official denied reports about an initiative by his country to end the current crisis in Lebanon. There is no any such initiative and we are just negotiating, Gaddaf Al-Dam said. What is going on in the region is reflected in the Arab street, he continued, noting that it was an embarrassing situation for the Arabs..

If Israel has to destroy a country for few soldiers, what are the Arabs to do for 10,000 detainees held in Israeli prisons for years, not to mention their occupied lands, Gaddaf Al-Dam wondered .

July 21, 2006