CAIRO: The head of the Egyptian parliament s foreign affairs committee warned Thursday that Israel s offensive in the Palestinian territories could threaten Egypt s peace treaty with the Jewish state. Israel should not think that the peace reached with an Arab country can be guaranteed while it continues to perpetrate its crimes and aggressions, Mustafa Al-Fekki told AFP. The MP from President Hosni Mubarak s ruling party was referring to the latest escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel sent tanks into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a bid to free a soldier captured by militants and also arrested 64 members of the governing Hamas movement in the West Bank, including eight ministers. The threat of a regional conflagration also loomed as Israeli warplanes on Wednesday flew over a palace of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, who is accused of supporting Palestinian and other armed groups in the region. Fekki also expressed fears that the flare-up could spill over into Egypt and threaten the country s security. The Egyptian parliament has expressed its concern for Egypt s borders and its peace deal. We respect it but the threats are coming from Israel, he said. Two days ago, Egypt sent more than 1,000 policemen to reinforce its paramilitary unit of border guards at the border with the southern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is operating. Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Jordan followed suit in 1994. AFP
Egyptian MP warns Israeli offensive could threaten peace deal
