A former Israeli minister who has close ties with the Egyptian regime said on Friday that embattled President Hosni Mubarak had told him he was looking for an "honorable exit."
Speaking to Israeli army radio, Labour MP Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who recently resigned as trade and industry minister, said he had spoken to Mubarak by phone shortly before his widely anticipated televised address on Thursday night.
"He knows it's over, that it is the end of the road. He didn't tell me anything before his speech, except that he was looking for a way out," Ben-Eliezer said.
The former minister is considered as the Israeli with the closest ties to the Egyptian leader who is facing unprecedented calls to step down following 18 days of mass street protests.
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