CAIRO: Members of the People’s Assembly are furious over Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Aboul Gheit’s statement that Egypt won’t cut relations with Israel over a film.
The Israeli documentary film at the heart of the crisis claimed that Israeli cabinet minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was responsible of the killing of 250 Egyptian prisoners of war in 1967.
The film’s screening on Israel’s channel one triggered nation-wide anger. Some MPs demanded Ben-Eliezer be prosecuted for war crimes under Egyptian law.
“The peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel isn’t Quran, said MP Anwar Essmat El Sadat. “Everything is open for reassessment in light of Egyptian interests to safeguard the rights of future generations.
El Sadat, the nephew of late President Anwar El Sadat who signed the peace accords in 1979, said his uncle wouldn’t have let such an issue pass without taking a firm stance.
Muslim Brotherhood MP Hussein Ibrahim said Aboul Gheit’s statement is an insult to all Egyptians.
The ministry of foreign affairs, Ibrahim added, does not represent Egyptians politically.
So far 20 MPs, led by El Sadat, have signed a petition addressed to the government to freeze all agreements with Israel, including the export of natural gas, steel and cement and the qualified industrial zone agreement (QIZ) which stipulates that a certain percentage of raw materials be imported from Israel to be eligible for the US market.
El Sadat had also called for the establishment of a media committee that would expose “Israeli crimes.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Minister of Representative Councils Mufid Shehab El Din asked the MPs to listen to Aboul Gheit’s point of view before attacking him and not to react to statements published in the press.
