A secret meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora took place in Egypt last October, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported.
The report quoted a “well-informed Arab source” who spoke about the meeting, which was said to take place during the Muslim festival ‘Eid Al-Fitr, following the month-long fighting between Israel and Hizbullah on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The meeting took place in a discreet part of the Sharm A-Sheikh resort.
As well as the Israeli and Lebanese premiers, it was attended by top Egyptian political advisor Osama El-Baz and Saudi Prince Bandar Bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz, who heads the Saudi National Security Council, the source said.
The meeting was said to last for five hours, during which participants discussed cooperation between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel and allied forces in Lebanon, in contesting the common threat from Tehran and Damascus, as well as from Hizbullah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to the source, Olmert told Siniora that the extensive international presence in Lebanon and the American support for Lebanon’s allies created an unprecedented opportunity to relieve Lebanon of Iranian-Syrian influence.
All this Shia vs. Sunni talk going on right now is extremely alarming…
What kind of credibility rating would you give this report on a scale of 10 (with 1 being an obvious lie and 10 being absolutely true)?
I honestly don’t know. The Egyptian press recently reported that a “prominent foreign Sunni Sheikh” visited the Muslim Brothers’ Supreme Guide Mahdi Akef, told him he had been wrong to promise to send fighters to fight alongside Hizbullah, and urged him to support the Siniora government in Lebanon. This happened around the same time as the Mufti of Lebanon, M.R. Qabbani, had a meeting with Mubarak. Things are kind of weird these days. Presumably the Palestinian News Agency is under the Palestinian Ministry of Information, which is Hamas controlled, I believe at the moment. So this could be some type of disinformation coming from Iran via Hamas if you’re into weaving tangled webs.
I don’t have a hard time imagining the Egyptians hosting a Saudi-Israel meeting, that part seems very probable, but for Siniora to meet Olmert so soon after the war…
So to answer your question, without further evidence, 3/4.
re: saudi + israel talks, see:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=804018&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
It’s gotta be false.
1. Sharm is overflowing at Eid.
2. Of all the news outlets to break the story, a Palestinian agency?
3. Specifically this line
“The meeting took place in a discreet part of the Sharm A-Sheikh resort.”
What exactly is he referring to when the source mentions ‘the Sharm A- Sheikh resort’? Aren’t there many?
Since Mubarak has his own compound in Sharm al-Sheikh (near or in the Movenpick Jolieville compound, I think) I don’t see why it would be difficult to have such a meeting, especially as they’ve happened before without shutting down Sharm al-Sheikh. The Israel-Saudi contacts are probable, the real unlikely one is that Siniora was there.
I agree with Issandr regarding Siniora and the likelihood of him being there. With an eye toward Lebanese politics, this is *exactly* the kind of stories that is being planted right now to suggest Siniora is a tool of not just the Americans but the Israelis. If a story like this runs in the territories, it gives As-Safir, Al-Akhbar, etc. an excuse to report it in Beirut. Sneaky. (Even I’m seeing conspiracy theories now!) That said, does anyone think the Saudis and the Israelis do *not* have contacts? Anyone at all?
Check out the Angry Arab:
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2006/12/fuad-sanyurah-has-denied-this-news.html
Fu’ad Sanyurah has denied this news item about meeting with Israeli officials in Egypt. He said that he had meetings in Beirut on that day. But the Hariri rag, Al-Mustaqbal, had reported that Sanyurah (read the last line) had flown to Egypt for a private visit on that same day. (thanks Hicham)
Ma’an News isn’t the same as the Palestinian News Service – it’s independantly funded….I think by the Danes and possible the U.S. I thought Siniora being there was odd too….who else would benefit from planting this story.