JERUSALEM: Israel has dropped its opposition to Egyptian minister s bid to head UNESCO as a gesture towards President Hosni Mubarak, a senior official said on Monday.
Veteran Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni came under fire last year from Israel for saying in parliament that he would burn Israeli books if he found any in libraries in Egypt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to drop Israel s objection to Hosni s candidacy to head the UN body following a personal request by Mubarak at their meeting this month, the senior official told AFP.
We have accepted the Egyptian president s request and will no longer oppose his candidature, he said.
Hosni also drew fire in Egypt after telling an Israeli newspaper he was prepared to visit the Jewish state.
Hosni, who is close to Mubarak and has been culture minister for the past 21 years, is accused by Islamists in Egypt of being too liberal and also shunned by intellectuals hostile to the regime.
Several Arab and European states have expressed their support for Hosni s bid to replace Japan s Koichiro Matsuura, who has headed the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since November 1999. -AFP
