Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet Tuesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in a summit to be held in Egypt´s Red Sea resort of Sharm a- Sheikh.

Senior Palestinian officials were also quoted by Reuters as saying that Jordan´s King Abdullah II is also expected to participate in the meeting.

The summit, to discuss further progress in budding Israeli- Palestinian cooperation, came at Mubarak´s initiative. It was announced by Egyptian security chief Omar Suleiman after his Wednesday meeting in Jerusalem with Sharon, during which the prime minister accepted the invitation.

According to Suleiman, Mubarak initiated the summit proposal following progress in security discussions between Israel and the Authority.

Sharon and Abbas were to have met Tuesday in Jerusalem.

The Egyptian presidency said in a statement that Mubarak had invited the leaders to meet "in light of the delicacy of the stage the peace process in the Middle East is going through and in an endeavor to seize the auspicious opportunity to achieve tangible progress on the Palestinian track."

The Egyptian statement, carried by the state news agency MENA, said Mubarak and Sharon would also discuss the possibilities of progress on the Syrian track.

In Cairo earlier Wednesday, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman met a delegation from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, led by exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, a Hamas statement said.

A delegation from the other large militant group, Islamic Jihad, is also expected in Cairo this week.

Egypt had offered to organize a dialogue between Abbas´ Fatah movement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad but Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha´ath said last week that would no longer be necessary because they had come to terms already.

Sha´ath said Egypt´s role with the militants would be to support and monitor the agreement.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Wednesday that the Palestinians hope the summit will produce a mutual cease-fire, a halt to Israel´s targeted killings of militants and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Egypt and Jordan "will be insurance of success for a summit," Palestinian Minister Saeb Erekat said.

Erekat said he, former Palestinian minister Mohammed Dahlan and Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh are to meet Thursday with Sharon´s chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to prepare for the summit.

Senior Israeli Cabinet ministers are also to meet Thursday to discuss the agenda of the summit.

Referring to the relative quiet of recent weeks, Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad told Army Radio on Wednesday that, "There is an opportunity here that must be exploited. All quiet is built on understandings."

Also in Gaza, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi of the Israel Defense Forces met with the Palestinian security chief in Gaza, Moussa Arafat, an IDF official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity said Kochavi asked Arafat to make a more determined effort to stop militants from firing rockets and mortars at Israeli targets.

The IDF´s Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, said Wednesday that if Israel receives any intelligence information regarding a potential suicide bomber, the details will be conveyed to the Palestinian security services. In the event that Palestinian authorities don´t take action, the IDF will take care of the threat, Halutz said. (© Copyright 2004 Haaretz. 02/02/05)