Cairo seeks explanation from Israel over anti-Egypt remarks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammad Amr has assigned the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv to ask for explanations from the Israeli government over Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's recent remarks about Egypt. A press statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry here on Monday , said the ambassador will ask the Israeli Foreign Ministry to confirm or deny alleged Lieberman's anti-Egypt remarks which Israeli media have published recently. The ambassador will also convey to the Israeli government Egypt's surprise that such strange remarks, if confirmed, come from a top official. The Hebrew daily /Ma'ariv/ newspaper has reported that Lieberman has warned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that political changes in Egypt since the 2011 uprising poses a greater threat to the country than Iran. "The Egyptian case is much more worrisome than the Iranian one, " Lieberman said in closed talks, according to a Ma'ariv daily report on Sunday. The paper also noted that Lieberman advised Netanyahu to send additional troops to southern Israel in response to political changes taking place in Egypt. "We have to be prepared for all possibilities," Lieberman warned Netanyahu, and suggested Israel form three or four southern divisions in response to the social and economic problems taking place in Egypt and the increasing number of Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula. Furthermore, Lieberman on Monday harshly criticized Egypt's decision to terminate gas deal with an Egyptian company exporting natural gas to Israel. "The deal to supply gas is not part of the peace deal, but it is an important commercial deal that was an expression of the stable ties between the states. "The unilateral cancellation of the deal is not a good sign, and we hope that this dispute will be resolved like any other commercial dispute, without taking it to the political realm," Lieberman told Israeli radio from Azerbaijan where he is on a visit. On Sunday, Egypt said it had scrapped the 2005 gas export deal with Israel, which generates 40 percent of its electricity from natural gas, with Egypt providing 43 percent of its gas supplies. The accord with the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which exports the gas to Israel, was cancelled "because the company failed to respect conditions stipulated in the contract," Mohamed Shoeib, the head of the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) said.