African Killed in Rafah; Trespassing of Three Palestinians into Egypt Thwarted

In two separate incidents, an African was killed south of the Rafah crossing yesterday, and the police foiled a trespassing attempt into Egypt by three Palestinians.

Security sources said an African was killed while attempting to cross the border into Israeli territory near the mark No. 13 south of the Rafah crossing. He did not stop when the police warned him with shots in the air, which prompted them to shoot him. He died in the Rafah Central Hospital. His identity remained unknown, as he carried no ID.

In a related context, the security forces foiled a trespassing attempt into Egypt by 3 Palestinians near the international mark No. 1 north of the Rafah crossing. They are Mohamed Fayez Hilmi, 17, Tarek Abdallah, 16, and Ramadan Anwar Awad, 15.

Investigation bodies were notified to find out why they were trespassing before they are deported to the Gaza Strip.

Also the security forces arrested two Ethiopian girls while trying to infiltrate into Israel near the mark No. 9 south of the Rafah crossing.

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Israeli Newspaper: Farouk Hosni Turns from an Anti-Zionism National Hero to a Traitor in order to Win UNESCO

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper said that Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni is now aware of the price he may have to pay of losing the Egyptian public opinion when he normalizes relations with Israeli writers in order to win the post of UNESCO Director-General. It said the national hero who was fighting Zionism turned into a traitor betraying the principles of the intellectuals who are against normalization with Israel.

The paper in an article yesterday referred to the Minister of Culture's apology for the remarks he said about burning Jewish books, his decision to translate Israeli books, and to reports about him inviting Israel to the Red Sea Art Festival in Suez.

The newspaper said in a report prepared by Zvi Bariil, the Arab affairs analyst: "It seems that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows the Arabs well, particularly the Egyptians. During the premiership of Tzipi Livni, all the Israeli ministries, embassies and consulates did not spare effort to prevent the Egyptian minister from reaching the post of UNESCO Director-General.

Every piece of paper carrying anti-Israel statements and every word uttered by Hosni against Israeli writers and books, and against normalization was collected and put in a dossier as evidence that condemns him. The main question in that dossier was: How can a cultured Egyptian minister and artist win such a post when he says he will burn Israeli books?"

Haaretz continued: "Save for the government officials, it is difficult to find one independent Egyptian intellectual talking well of Farouk Hosni, despite the fact that his anti-Israel statements made him a local hero who helped construct a wall against normalization. But then came Netanyahu and made a deal with President Mubarak to stop the campaign against Hosni's nomination for UNESCO in return for Israel receiving good gestures."

It went on to say: "And the good gestures started on the spot. First, Hosni apologized for his remarks. Then he announced that he would translate the English and French versions of the David Grossman and Amos Oz novels. Then - according to the paper - he insisted on inviting Israel to the cultural festival that will be held in Suez."

The paper said Hosni's statements and decisions caused a stir in Egypt and made him vulnerable to criticism and ridicule in Egypt. The Suez MP Abbas Abdel Aziz called for dismissing Hosni and withdrawing his candidacy for UNESCO for his willingness to do anything for that post, and for deliberately defaming the history of the city of Suez by inviting Israelis to its festival.

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Mubarak Meets Iraqi Parliament Speaker; Reiterates Egypt's Support to Iraq

President Hosni Mubarak yesterday met with the Iraqi Parliament Speaker Iyad Samarrai. They discussed the situation in Iraq and the bilateral relations between Cairo and Baghdad.

Samarrai said in a statement following the meeting that President Mubarak reiterated Egypt's support to Iraq. He also said that he relayed to the President greetings from President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

He added that the talks addressed the positive developments in the bilateral relations, the cooperation agreements that were signed by the two countries and the positive step taken by Egypt to reopen its embassy in Baghdad and appoint an ambassador to Iraq.

He also said that a cooperation protocol between the Egyptian and Iraqi parliaments will be signed before he leaves, and that mutual visits by specialized committees will take place in an attempt to benefit from Egyptian expertise, coordinate cooperation and to unite legislation.

On the differences over the Iraqi oil contracts, Samarrai said such differences are a manifestation of democracy, explaining that MPs differed with the oil minister over delaying the law that regulates the oil and gas deals with other countries and gives licenses for foreign oil companies to work in Iraq.

He said they also differed as to whether the operating oil fields should be developed by local or by foreign companies, explaining that only the non-productive, non-invested and depleted fields should be developed by foreign companies.

He also said that there are agreements and memoranda of understanding between Egypt and Iraq to cooperate in oil and gas, and that the Egyptian companies are allowed to work in that field in Iraq.

On the security situation in Iraq, especially that Egypt decided to send an ambassador there, the Iraqi official said it is much better than in 2004, but there are still some organized criminal gangs that cause concern for security. However, the security and military bodies have been improved to a large extent, and the government is able to protect the foreign diplomatic missions.

For his part, Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorour said the Iraqi official was invited by the People's Assembly, and that the meetings with the Iraqi delegation stressed the Arab identity of Iraq, its unity and the need to provide security to its people and end discord.

In a related context, an Egyptian diplomatic source told Al-Masry Al-Youm there is a diplomatic delegation now in Baghdad to inspect the embassy premises and discuss the final fixtures of the building.

The source told Al-Masry Al-Youm: "We are currently talking with the Iraqi side to agree on all details pertaining to the premises of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Iraq, and when we finish, the return date of the mission will be set."

The source said Sherif Shahin will be our ambassador to Iraq, and the rest of the diplomatic mission is currently being selected, whether for the consulate or the other departments, noting that once they are selected, they will go to start their work.

He said: "We are now in the final stages of the Egyptian mission's return to Iraq, yet a date was not yet set."

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