| Egypt has agreed to a request from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to help maintain security in the Gaza Strip if he carries out his plan to end the Israeli presence in the territory, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported yesterday. The report said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had told Sharon that Cairo was prepared to âsend experts in all fields, notably security, to the Palestinian territories immediately to help the Palestinian Authority assume its responsibilities in the matter of security.â Former Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan said that militants would stop attacking Israelis from the Gaza Strip if the Jewish state withdrew completely from the area. Dahlan, a former security minister who has been delegated by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to pursue contacts with the militants, said Hamas had agreed to halt violence and participate in administering Gaza. |