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World Jewish News
Egyptian FM: Lieberman not welcome in Egypt
16.04.2009
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Wednesday that his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, is not welcome in Egypt.
"His feet will not step on Egyptian soil as long as he maintains his positions," Aboul Gheit told Russia Today TV.
Lieberman sparked outrage in Egypt last year when he criticized its president, Hosni Mubarak, in a speech before the Knesset, saying that the Egyptian leader could "go to hell."
Lieberman was critical of Mubarak's refusal to make an official state visit to Israel. The Egyptian leader's sole trip to his country's neighbor to the east was for the 1995 funeral of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Since Lieberman took office, Egypt has threatened to boycotted the foreign minister and Aboul Gheit has said he will not shake his hand.
Nevertheless, the Egyptian foreign minister said his country would still work directly with the Israeli government, only not via its foreign ministry.
He also attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, branding it "an extremist, hard-line government whose leader speaks of war and of rejecting every agreement."
Israel's foreign ministry issued no immediate response to Aboul Gheit's comments.
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Источник: Haaretz
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