Diplomatic sources close to the Egyptian presidency denied a report published Tuesday by a Lebanese newspaper, claiming the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to leave to Germany during the next two days for a new round of medical treatment. These sources added the Egyptian leader will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) on Saturday and one day later with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader was expected in Egypt on Tuesday, but the visit was delayed to Wednesday and then Sunday.
The diplomatic sources stressed that the Lebanese report was "baseless". They added this was another false report in a "series of lies" which was launched recently by an Israeli newspaper, which claimed that Mubarak's recent visit to France included medical treatment."The goal of these rumors is to undermine Egyptian stances regarding regional issues," they were quoted as saying.
The source added: "The president is fine, and works normally. He will meet with Palestinian President and Israeli Prime Minister separately on Saturday and Sunday," noting that the President will also continue to attend graduation ceremonies for a number of military colleges in the coming days.
On their part, political circles in Egypt claimed the decision to postpone the visit by Netanyahu was taked in order to avoid any link between the visit and any hostile action against a Libyan aid ship trying to reach the Gaza Strip.
She pointed out a history of many similar notably the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in late 2008 after a meeting with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit.
