Sharon grateful for Egypt’s help on Gaza

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is struggling to win approval for his Gaza Strip withdrawal plan, said Tuesday he’s grateful for Egyptian help and hopes the new cooperation can bring the two countries closer.

However, a trip by Israel’s foreign minister to Cairo, initially set for this week, was put off until next Monday, with Israeli officials citing scheduling difficulties.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has spoken in favor of Sharon’s plan, pledged to help in the transition to Palestinian control and said Egypt would play a security role. He invited Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to Cairo for talks – a boost for Sharon after his Likud Party and Cabinet aligned against the pullout, despite U.S. backing.

Sharon said Tuesday that Egypt’s role would be crucial. “I think that Egyptian involvement – if it really is carried out seriously, as President Mubarak said in my last conversation with him yesterday – has definite importance,” Sharon said.

He said the two countries have mutual interests.

“Calm in the Gaza Strip and seriously dealing with the terrorist organizations … is something very important to the Egyptians,” Sharon said. “It’s really important for us, too, and it could well be that cooperation on this matter could increase areas of cooperation between us and Egypt.”

Sharon said he would present a staged Gaza withdrawal plan, to be completed at the end of 2005, to the Cabinet on Sunday. He declined to call a vote last weekend when it became evident that the proposal would not be approved.

In Washington, Sharon aide Dov Weisglass met Tuesday with U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to discuss Sharon’s determination to carry out the plan. A White House official said the U.S. endorses the Gaza pullout plan Sharon presented there in April.