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DATE=10/11/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=EGYPT / MIDEAST SUMMIT (L-O)

NUMBER=2-267755

BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Egypt has said it will not host a summit with Israel, the Palestinians, and the United States unless the Jewish state takes steps to reduce tensions in the Middle East. President Hosni Mubarak said although he would have welcomed such a meeting if there had been potential for what he called serious results, he did not want it turned into a media circus. Dale Gavlak reports from Cairo.

TEXT: Egyptian Information Minister Safwat el Sherif explained Cairo's stand on a potential four-way summit after meeting with President Mubarak and the European Union's chief foreign policy diplomat, Javier Solana.

The Egyptian official said Cairo must ensure that the atmosphere is conducive to a successful summit. That could only be accomplished, Mr. El Sherif said, if Israel takes specific steps. Cairo is asking the Jewish state to withdraw its forces from Palestinian territories. It is also calling for Israel to withdraw its warnings and threats directed at the Palestinian Authority.

Egypt is also urging Israel to accept an international commission of inquiry into the violence of the past two-weeks. Mr. El Sherif added that Israel should also agree not to allow, what he called, any other provocative visits to Jerusalem's Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) in Jerusalem. A visit by Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon last month sparked the surge of violence.

The Egyptian information minister said that President Mubarak outlined the conditions for holding a summit in a message sent to President Clinton. He explained to reporters that it is important that Israel accept these steps, otherwise , he said - Egypt is truly sorry but it will not hold a four-way summit on its land.

Last week's Paris summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright collapsed over a Palestinian demand for an international inquiry into the causes of the violence. Prime Minister Barak has said that he prefers a U-S-Israeli-Palestinian probe.

Egypt for the moment is concentrating its efforts on an Arab summit scheduled for next week. Arab leaders, including those from Kuwait and Iraq, will discuss the ongoing violence between the Israelis and Palestinians and a united stand to end the clashes. (SIGNED)

NEB/DG/GE/RAE