Israel will celebrate on Wednesday the 55th anniversary of its establishment.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has sent a message of congratulations to his Israeli counterpart Moshe Katsav for the Jewish state's national day, Israeli officials said Monday.
"It's the first time in several years that the Egyptian president sends such a message," the spokesman for the president's office in Jerusalem, Adar Avissar, said.
Mubarak called in the message for closer "cooperation between the two states in order to reach a peace settlement based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and Israel's withdrawal" from the occupied territories. Israel Radio reported.
He also hoped for "peace, stability and security for all the peoples of the region", especially the Israelis, the spokesman said. (Albawaba.com)
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