August 29, 2012
Egypt’s President Morsi to decline Israel visit invitation
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Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi talks during an interview with Reuters at the Presidential palace in Cairo on Aug. 27. Photo by REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
A day after Israel’s foreign minister called on Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to visit Israel, a Muslim Brotherhood official called such a visit impossible.
“There is no possibility for Morsi to visit the Zionist entity,” Gamal Heshmat of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party told an Egyptian online news magazine, Ynet reported.
“President Morsi’s patriotism will not allow him to do so,” Heshmat said, saying that the presidential palace will turn down the invitation,
Avigdor Lieberman issued the invitation Tuesday during a speech at a legal conference. He called for the visit after Morsi said in an interview Monday with Reuters that he would not attempt to overturn the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s military said Wednesday that it would expand its counterattack against terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula that have launched attacks on both the Egyptian military and Israel. The offensive could involve bringing more military hardware into the area in contravention of the peace treaty. Egypt and Israel reportedly have been in regular contact over the redeployments.
