Barak, Mubarak talks to focus on coaxing Abbas to negotiating table

Foreign activists staged a sit-in to protest against Egypt's stance. (AFP- Victoria Hazou)

"Barak and Mubarak, along with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman will discuss ways to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table after the latest visit by special American envoy George Mitchell ended with little result. Other issues likely to be discussed are the construction of a permanent barrier to block tunnels between Gaza and Sinai in the Rafah area, and the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip. "