Author: The Associated Press
Publication: Haaretz - Israel News
Date: February 13, 2007
URL: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824984.html
Israeli excavations near the Al-Aqsa Mosque
in Jerusalem sparked angry reactions on Monday from Egyptian parliament members,
including one who said only a nuclear bomb could stop Israel.
The excavations, which aim to salvage artefacts
before construction of a pedestrian bridge leading to the complex also sacred
to Jews, have angered many Muslims who fear the work will harm the foundations
of al-Aqsa mosque. Israel says the holy places will not be harmed.
"That cursed Israel is trying to destroy
al-Aqsa mosque," Mohammed el-Katatny of President Hosni Mubarak's National
Democratic Party (NDP) told a heated parliament session held to discuss the
Israeli digging.
"Nothing will work with Israel except
for a nuclear bomb that wipes it out of existence," he said.
Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace
treaty with Israel in 1979, but many Egyptians still regard Israel as an enemy
because of its continued conflict with Palestinians.
Several Egyptian lawmakers at Monday's session
called on the government to abolish all agreements with Israel, but the house
has little say in national security issues or foreign policy, ultimately dictated
by Mubarak who has rejected similar calls in the past.
"The war with Israel is still ongoing
whether we like it or not," NDP lawmaker Khalifa Radwan said.
Mohamed Amer, another ruling party member,
said: "What this [Israeli] gang is doing makes me demand that we trample
over all the agreements we signed."
Israeli authorities said on Monday they would
reconsider the planned construction work near the mosque in response to Muslim
protests but would continue to search for ancient artefacts in the area.
