Cairo – Egyptian FM Sparks Uproar By Saying Israel Not Guilty Of ‘Terrorism’

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    FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) in Jerusalem July 10, 2016 REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunCairo – Months after visiting Israel in what many perceived as a sign of warming ties between Cairo and Jerusalem, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made headlines in the Arab world on Sunday when he told a group of students that Israel’s actions in regard to the Palestinians do not constitute terrorism.

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    Despite the 1979 peace treaty signed between the two countries, Israel is not often spoken of as an ally by political figures in Egypt publicly or in the media.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that decades of incitement against Israel in Egypt had been behind Egyptian judoka Islam el-Shehaby’s refusal to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent, Ori Sasson, at the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. In March, Egyptian MP Tawfik Okasha was kicked out of parliament in a vote by his peers after he met with the Israeli ambassador to Egypt and called for normalization with the Jewish state.

    Shoukry’s comments on Sunday came during a Q&A session with students held at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. In response to a question whether the Israeli killing of Palestinian children is a form of terrorism, Shoukry said that “it cannot be described as terrorism without an international agreement characterizing it as such.”

    Shoukry said that Israel’s history made it highly value its security, and therefore it tightens control over its territory in order to secure itself.

    Shoukry became the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Israel since 2007 last month, in a visit that was kept secret from the public until the last minute.

    Diplomatic officials said that his visit indicated a growing willingness on Egypt’s part to make public its strong relationship with Israel.

    However, in a sign that true normalization between the two countries has yet to be attained at a public level, days after his visit, the Egyptian government issued a denial that Shoukry had watched the Euro 2016 soccer final together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had posted to Facebook and Twitter a photo of the two watching the match between Portugal and France, sparking public outrage in Egypt.


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    3 Comments
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    honestbroker
    honestbroker
    7 years ago

    Caused an uproar?
    No surprise here.
    Truth to a Muslim is like salt to a slug.

    kenyaninwhitehouse
    kenyaninwhitehouse
    7 years ago

    and this is the Zionists good friend, Egypt who not withstanding torturing dozes of Jewish boys to death took back the Sinai without a bullet.