Egypt's Suleiman to visit Israel for Gaza security talks

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is slated to visit Israel on Tuesday to conclude talks on deploying Egyptian troops along the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

Suleiman will meet the head of the Defense Ministry's political-security branch, Amos Gilad, on Tuesday. He will also attend a memorial in the West Bank city of Ramallah marking the 40th day since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Egypt is prepared to deploy two Border Police battalions along the border in April 2005. The battalions, which will include 750 "high-quality" soldiers, are expected to strengthen Egypt's control of the border region.

Although Israel has accepted the Egyptian proposal, the two sides must still clarify the types of weapons and equipment the Egyptian units will be permitted to carry.

Egypt and Israel plan to exchange letters of understanding after agreeing on the details of the deployment.

Signs of a warming of diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt culminated with the release of Azzam Azzam from an Egyptian jail two weeks ago. Azzam was accused of being an Israeli spy and was serving a 16 year sentence in an Egyptian prison. He was released after serving roughly half his term.

Israel is slated to release 170 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal which saw Azzam released from jail. The release is expected within days.

Egypt is trying to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and assist preparations for Israel's planned withdrawal of the Gaza strip.