"There is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman, a senior Israeli adviser told U.S. diplomats

Secrete US diplomatic cables show on Monday that Israel has long vied Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman as the preferred candidate to succeed President Hosni Mubarak.

According to an August 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as "at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated."

The cable quoted the advisor, David Hacham, as saying that he sometimes spoke to Suleiman's deputy several times a day via a "hotline."
The diplomats added: "There is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman.

According to the cable, Hacham stated that an Israeli delegation led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak was "shocked by Mubarak's aged appearance and slurred speech," when it met him in Egypt. "Hacham was full of praise" for Suleiman, however, it said.

Suleiman, formerly the chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, was appointed Egypt's vice president by President Hosni Mubarak last month following the outbreak of mass protests against the regime.