The news of Suleiman's visit came as another senior Egyptian official was in the West Bank for peace talks. Mubarak's senior aide, Osama al-Baz, met with Arafat during a short visit to the West Bank town of Ramallah. Al-Baz told Haaretz that Egypt was 'deeply concerned to get out of this problematic situation which threatens the whole region'. Al-Baz called on all the Palestinian groups to take a more active role in reaching a truce. 'Then the Israelis will do the same,' he said. Al-Baz also said that his meeting with Arafat had been a success. 'What I heard during my meeting with the president has reassured me and given us hope for the future,' Al-Baz told reporters after the meeting. 'We hope that for its part Israel will also follow its commitments so that we can reach a compromise.' (MEED 12:12:03)