Egypt calls Israel its number one enemy, saying it will “revise all its relations and agreements” with Tel Aviv. In a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza, Egyptian MPs have voted to expel Israel's Ambassador in Cairo, and to halt gas exports.
"Egypt will never be the friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity [Israel] which we consider as the first enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation," reads the text of a report prepared by the Arab Affairs Committee of the People's Assembly, the lower house of Egyptian parliament.
The resolution was passed on Monday night with the majority of the country's Islamist-dominated 508-seat chamber voting in favor of halting of gas exports in protest against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Egyptian MPs also called on the government “to revise all its relations and agreements with that enemy,” referring to Israel.
According to the approved text, MPs suggest the expulsion of Israel's Ambassador to Egypt and a recall of the Egyptian Ambassador from Tel Aviv.
Monday’s vote is said to serve as an indication of how relations between two countries may wrap up next.
There has been no official comment from Israel on the vote so far.
The vote is seen as largely symbolic as only the ruling Military Council, the country’s current government, can make such decisions.
Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, after intense negotiation. However, since Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year and the new government came to power, the treaty became one of its concerns. Egypt’s new parliament, in which half of the seats are controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, has several times threatened to cancel the agreement.
Former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Zvi Mazel has told RT that something is wrong in the parliament, if MPs from “a great country like Egypt” approve such statements.
“Israel is a friend of Egypt. We did nothing wrong to Egypt since the peace treaty was signed,” Mazel said.
The only reason for such statements, Mazel says, is “fanaticism and hatred.”“There is no other explanation to such a statement,” he said. “It is nonsense.”
Meanwhile, Egypt has brokered a ceasefire between Israel and the insurgent groups based in Gaza. It went into effect during the early hours on Tuesday.
But despite that, there were reports of continued shelling of Israel and retaliatory air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
During four days of violence, 25 Palestinians were killed and 200 rockets were fired at Israel. Twenty of those killed were militants and the other five civilians, according to medical officials. At least 80 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were reported wounded.
Egypt had earlier condemned Israel's attacks.
"We are against the Israeli attacks on Gaza, as they violate the settled cease-fire between the parties," said Egyptian Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman on March 10. Source