| Under heavy security, an Israeli delegation opened an official visit yesterday to the western Sahara nation of Mauritania, the only Arab League member with a diplomat still posted in Israel. State media announced the visit, led by Shalom Cohen of the Middle-Eastern desk of Israel's Foreign Ministry. Israelis and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Vall Ould Bellal were to discuss Middle East affairs in light of the death of Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to withdraw from Gaza and four West Bank settlements, a Mauritanian official said on condition of anonymity. Mauritania, an Arab-dominated West African nation straddling black and Arab Africa, opened full diplomatic relations with Israel in the 1990s. Israel is building a cancer hospital in the middle of the capital, Nouakchott, under tight police protection. This week's visit was expected to include talks on exchanges of doctors and other medical assistance. |