Egypt MB 'never' to recognize Israel

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says it will never recognize the state of Israel and will put Cairo-Tel Aviv Peace Treaty to the test of public opinion once a new government takes office in the North African country. The group's second-in-command, Rashad al-Bayoumi, said in an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat Arabic daily that no member of the Muslim Brotherhood will ever negotiate with an Israeli. “This is not possible, no matter what the circumstances are. We do not recognize Israel at all. It is a criminal enemy occupier… I will never allow myself to sit down with a criminal,” Bayoumi said, noting that Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian land. He said that the Muslim Brotherhood respects all international agreements signed by Egypt during the current "interim" period but it has the right to reconsider a treaty signed without the consent of the Egyptian people. Bayoumi went on to say that once a new government is in place, the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty would be re-evaluated in a national referendum. "We will take all the correct legal procedures regarding to the treaty. The people will have their say," he said, adding,” We have the right to present it to the people and the elected parliament so that they can come to a decision about it. Since former Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was toppled a popular revolution in early 2011, anti-Israeli sentiments have been on the rise, with many people demanding an end to the peace agreement. Power was handed to Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following Mubarak's ouster in February. The Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, has won around 50 percent of the seats in the first two phases of Egypt's three-stage parliamentary elections.