The editor of a leading Egyptian weekly has slammed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the assault on Egypt's foreign minister in Jerusalem last Monday.
"It is now time to adopt a new attitude toward the Palestinian Authority, to tell them 'No' a thousand times, as we are not so naive as they think," Ibrahim Saada wrote in an editorial of Akhbar Elyom on Saturday.
Maher was pushed and shoved by Palestinians, who shouted he was not welcome when he visited Al Aqsa Mosque.
Saada wrote that he rejected Maher's attempt "to deflate this ugly incident, trying to convince the public opinion that those who carried out this aggression were a small, trivial and banned group."
In words addressed to Arafat, Saada wrote: "Your excellency, the sole spokesman of the Palestinian people, we are fed up with your repetition that any Palestinian act against Egypt, or any Palestinian act - verbal or physical - against an Egyptian official, should be blamed on a trivial, small and banned group."
The editorial went on to recall several occasions when Arafat's policies have been directly opposed to those of Egypt.
Saada said that after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981, "his excellency the Palestinian president was the first among those who rejoiced, clapped and danced." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
