Egypt’s Parliament says to boycott Israeli officials

Relations between Israel and Egypt have been tense since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

CAIRO: Egypt’s Committee of Foreign Relations of the People’s Assembly decided on Monday that it would boycott any parliamentary events and activities if any Israelis official is one of the participants, describing their neighbor as a “Zionist entity.”

This came in response to an inquiry by MP Helal el-Dandarawi concerning the Parliament’s position towards the relations with the Israeli Trade Union and labor associations as well as the Knesset.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979, but relations between the two countries have become utterly cold since Egyptian protesters attacked the Israeli embassy in Egypt in September following IDF soldiers crossing into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and shooting dead at least three soldiers.

Essam el-Erian, chairman of the committee and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood`s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said “normalization with the Zionist entity” is rejected unequivocally and this “is the decision of the Egyptian People,” adding that the committee “refuses to participate in any parliamentary or political events that includes the Israeli participation.”

He continued to say that “the question that should be discussed by parliament is if there is an international conference attended by Israelis, should Egyptian MPs withdraw or not?”

Wahid Abdel Meguid, also a member of the committee, called for taking a clear stance on this issue, which is to “boycott any political or parliamentary events attended by Israeli delegations.”

MP Emad Gad stated that despite knowing that normalization is widely rejected, however, “there are international conferences that have to be attended even if Israelis are participating,” adding that “sometimes boycotting is not the right step to take.”

El–Erian said the parliament is not an “official institution that represents the state or government, but it represents the people, who reject normalization with Israel.”

BM

Tags: Boycott, featured, Israel, Parliament

Section: Egypt, Latest News, Palestine