Arafat leaves for Egypt for talks with Mubarak

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -- Palestinian President Yasser Arafat left for Egypt on Monday for brief talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the most recent developments in Palestinian-Israeli peace moves.

Mubarak, who plays a key role in the peace process, will also host in Alexandria on Monday Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara and Yossi Sarid, leader of Israel's dovish Meretz party.

Arafat's adviser Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters that the Palestinian leader, a frequent visitor to Egypt, will hold talks with Mubarak "as part of continuous Palestinian efforts for consultation and coordination to confront the challenges after the failure of Camp David Summit."

Arafat met Mubarak three times during a recent tour that took him to three continents to drum up support for his peace positions.

Israel and the Palestinians have blamed each other for the failure of last month's 15-day summit at Camp David which collapsed over deep differences on the fate of Jerusalem.

Abu Rdainah said Arafat would return to self-ruled areas later on Monday to meet with U.S. peace envoy Dennis Ross, who arrived in the region last week to try to find ways to bridge wide gaps between the sides and to assess whether he could arrange a new summit.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian officials said it was still too early to hold a follow-up summit.

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