by Ming Jinwei, Yang Wenjing

    CAIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Egypt, a key Mideast mediator, hasbeefed up efforts to help the Palestinians and Israelis end morethan four years of bloodshed since moderate Mahmoud Abbas won theJan. 9 Palestinian presidential election.

    Al-Jazeera TV channel reported Wednesday that Egyptian PresidentHosni Mubarak has invited Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister ArielSharon to hold a summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh next week.

    Sharon has agreed to attend the meeting slated for next Tuesday,the prime minister's office confirmed later.

    An official source in Abbas' office also confirmed that Abbashas given the nod to the meeting, adding that US Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice and Jordanian King Abdullah II may also attend thesummit.

    The source also said the problem is not with the place."Abbas agrees to meet with Sharon anywhere, but the mostimportant thing is to come up with tangible and fruitful resultsafter the meeting," the source stressed.

    Rice, who has promised to exert enormous personal efforts towork for peace in the Middle East, is due to start a European andMideast tour on Thursday.

    Mubarak's invitation was delivered during a meeting betweenSharon and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who hasengaged in several rounds of talks with Palestinian and Israelisides in the past.

    Suleiman, who arrived in Jerusalem earlier in the day, said theproposal was initiated by Mubarak following progress in securitydiscussions between Israel and the Palestinians.

    During Suleiman's meeting with Sharon, the two talked about thesecurity situation on the border and what needs to be done to stopweapons smuggling.

    "This is all part of the heating up of security contacts andcoordination," one senior Israeli official was quoted by theJerusalem Post as saying.

    The official said Suleiman's trip was related to an upcomingvisit by Rice to the region, adding that the Egyptians want toimpress upon Rice that they are taking constructive actions.There has been cautious optimism over Mideast peace prospectssince Abbas was elected formal successor to late Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat.

    The United States and Israel had shunned Arafat, accusing him ofbeing a "stumbling block" to peace, a charge strongly denied by thePalestinian side.

    Abbas has repeatedly asked radical Palestinian militant groups,including the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) and the larger IslamicResistance Movement (Hamas), to stop anti-Israeli attacks to helprestart the stalled peace process.

    However, the groups insisted that attacks stop if the move wouldbe reciprocated by Israel with confidence-building measures.There has been a remarkable lull in Palestinian-Israeli violencein the last two weeks as Abbas worked to coax the militant groupsinto a truce with Israel.

    Israel, in return, also scaled down military operations in theoccupied Palestinian lands.

    Egypt, a major peace broker in the Middle East and the firstArab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, hopes to helpcreate a new spirit of cooperation between the Palestinians andIsraelis to seek a solution to the longstanding conflict.

    Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath has announced thatabout 40 Palestinian security officers are due to arrive in Cairoon Thursday to take training courses as part of Egypt's efforts tohelp maintain law and order in the Gaza Strip after a plannedIsraeli pullout.

    Sharon, claiming there was no viable Palestinian peace partner,had initiated the so-called disengagement plan, under which Israelwould withdraw Jewish settlers and forces from the Gaza Strip andparts of the West Bank later this year.

    Egypt, under an agreement with Israel reached in December, willstart deploying some 750 troops along its border with the GazaStrip this month to stop militants and weapons from crossing theborder after the planned Israeli pullout.

    An Egyptian security delegation is expected to visit thePalestinian territories on Sunday for talks with Palestinianofficials and militant groups to help secure a formal ceasefirewith Israel. Enditem