News In Brief

Egyptian diplomat meets with Shamir in Jerusalem

Egypt's al-Shafei Abdel-Hamid, foreign ministry undersecretary, met here Thursday with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir against the backdrop of strained Israeli-Egyptian relations worsened by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's visit to Cairo.

Israel Radio said the US pressured Cairo to dispatch the undersecretary to Israel to help heal differences between the two former enemies. It was the first visit by a ranking Egyptian official since Cairo recalled its ambassador in September 1982 over the Beirut massacre of Palestinians.