CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said he would not shake new Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman s hand if he encountered him at a meeting, state news agency MENA reported on Thursday.
Lieberman, a far right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau s new government, once said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could go to hell if he did not visit Israel.
Lieberman had also suggested bombing Egypt s Aswan dam in the event of war between the two countries, at peace since 1979.
He is a man who ought to reconsider how his brain communicates with his tongue, said Aboul Gheit, according to a transcript of an interview with Egyptian TV published by MENA.
As long as Lieberman s position stays the same I will, should I encounter him at a meeting, merely look at him, Aboul Gheit said. Of course, my hand will remain in my pocket.
Lieberman adopted a conciliatory tone toward Egypt after assuming his new role this week.
But he has signaled a hawkish new approach to the peace process with the Palestinian Authority that could put Israel at odds with the international community and main ally the United States.
He said Israel is not bound by the 2007 relaunch of US-backed peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, although he said the government would commit to the 2003 roadmap.
The roadmap is an international peace plan under which Israel bound itself to the principle of a Palestinian state. -AFP
