Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres lent his backing on Friday to an offer by a top UAE official and property magnate to buy up Gaza settlement homes after Israel pulls out its troops and settlers later this year. UAE billionaire Mohammad Al-Abbar held talks with Peres after briefly meeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the first publicly reported such encounters between officials from both the countries, which have no diplomatic relations.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005