Israel accuses Egypt of meddling

An Israeli government official today accused Egypt of trying to meddle in politics – bringing into the open a rift over Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s overtures to the Israeli left and his harsh criticism of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

“Unfortunately, the president of Egypt and other high officials have not been treating Israel properly lately,” Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar said after a Cabinet meeting today.

“They have made improper statements which have strayed from the diplomatic path, in an effort to interfere in the Israeli political system.”

Saar also issued a warning to Israeli Labor Party leaders, several of whom have visited Egypt in recent weeks.

Saar named no one, but said: “Israeli officials who were invited to Egypt have to take into account that accepting the invitation is improper when it is a rejection of the elected government, a personal attack on government policy.”

Labor Party leader Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who recently visited Egypt, “will do all he can to find any possibility toward peace and calm to the region,” his spokesman Yarden Vatikai said in response to Saar’s comments.

In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said accusations Egypt was meddling in Israeli affairs were “baseless”.

Last month, Mubarak said he was opening contacts with Israel’s leftist Labor party so that “Egypt will not be excluded from efforts to achieve peace.”

In quick succession, Egypt hosted Ben-Eliezer, who also is defence minister in the Israeli coalition government led by Sharon and the Likud Party, and two other senior party members – Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg and Transport Minister Ephraim Sneh.

Israeli media accused Mubarak of trying to meddle in Israel’s internal affairs, though there was no official Israeli reaction at the time.

Then, as he met Peres last week, Mubarak sharpened criticism of Sharon’s government.

Mubarak said Sharon had no peace plan and was blinded by hatred of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Egypt signed a 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Though Israel regards Egypt as an important Arab moderate that can act as a mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Israeli-Egyptian relations have been cool.

Egypt withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv in 2000 to protest what Cairo sees as Israel’s use of excessive force against the Palestinians.

Egypt announced in April that it was limiting diplomatic contacts with Israel to those that “serve the Palestinian cause”.

Labor is the traditional leader of the Israeli camp favouring concessions to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. Likud has rejected the idea of an independent Palestinian state, though Sharon has said that is inevitable.

With new Israeli elections expected in late 2003, Labor leaders are underlining the differences between their vision for peace and Sharon’s.