ABSTRACT
The Egyptians decided to increase their involvement in the hope of facilitating a compromise and advance the parties toward an agreement. Four people led the process in Egypt: Foreign Minister Amre Moussa (now head of the Arab League) who was known for his tough stance against Israel, and insisted that there was no real difference between Barak and Netanyahu; political adviser to the president of Egypt, Osama El-Baz; head of Egypt’s Intelligence Services, Omar Suleiman, whose position with Mubarak was very strong (Suleiman had been effective and positive in transferring information, messages and ideas to and from Mubarak); and the Ambassador of Egypt in Israel, Muhammad Bassiouni. The latter’s knowledge of the political players and Israel’s social and economic background made him a confidant of both Israelis and Palestinians, and a reliable analyst of the Israeli reality.
