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Sharon and Mubarak met for 90 min utes in the President's Oruba Palace office in suburban Heliopolis. In a discussion concerning the Israeli charges about weapons smuggling, Mubarak assured Sharon that Egypt would do nothing to jeopardize the peace. He offered to send a top officer to Israel to explore ways of stopping the infiltration of hand grenades into Gaza. He also told Sharon that Egypt would adhere to the troop-limitation clauses of the peace treaty.
In an even more emphatic gesture, Mubarak then wrote a personal letter to Begin, reportedly assuring him that the Sinai pullout would remove the last obstacle to fruitful relations between the two countries. In the future, said Mubarak, more Egyptians would be pleased to visit Israel and become acquainted with "their cousins and neighbors." Begin was said to be "satisfied and pleased" by the message.
In Cairo, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Ali said at the close of a week of frenzied diplomacy: "I think the withdraw al will be on time." - By William E. Smith.
Reported by David Aikman/ Jerusalem and Roberto Sum/Beirut