CAIRO, Dec. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Israeli Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin arrived here Sunday for talks on the upcoming Palestinian elections, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.

   Beilin, one of the chief Israeli designers of the 1993 Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians and the leader of Israeli left-wing Yahad party, will discuss the current Palestinian situation and the elections slated for Jan. 9 with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and other officials, MENA said.

   He would also discuss preparations for the Israeli government's plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip by the end of next year, MENAadded.

   In an interview with Israeli Public Radio earlier this month,Beilin praised Egyptian efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.

   Besides the Oslo peace accord, Beilin and former Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo were the chief architects of the Geneva Initiative, an unofficial Middle East peace plan signed in December last year.  Enditem