The Talks Before the Talks

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

OFTEN THE TOUGHEST PART OF NEGOTIATING IS JUST GETTING to the table. Egypt and Israel engaged in some behind-the-scenes discussions last week in an effort to keep this week's Middle East peace talks on track. According to a Western diplomatic source, the Egyptians learned of Israeli Defense Force plans to enter Lebanon for a week-long siege on Hizballah bases. Egyptian officials believed that if the Israelis went through with such a plan, it would strengthen Arab opposition to the peace talks and derail negotiations. Late Wednesday night Osama El-Baz, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's troubleshooter and confidant, arrived in Israel with a warning to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin that the consequences of such an attack would be dire. By the end of the week, the threat seemed to have been headed off.