Egypt asks Israel to ease pressure on Palestinians

Cairo, 30 Dec-(ANA)-Egypt has asked Israel to ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, but it was not clear if the talks in Cairo made any progress on a proposed Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap.

The move followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third visit to Egypt since taking office in March.

Egypt has been mediating talks over a prisoner trade between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas that controls Gaza.

"We requested that Israel take many internal steps to lift the pressure off of Palestinians such as checkpoints that allow freedom of movement," Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at a news conference after the talks with President Hosni Mubarak. (ANA)

FA/ANA/30 December 2009---