Egypt's key Islamist party voices opposition to Cairo-Tel Aviv ties

A key Islamist party, which stood second only to Ikhwan Al-Muslimun in the recent parliamentary elections in Egypt, voiced strong opposition to any relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv. Speaking to FNA in Cairo on Saturday, spokesman of the Salafi al-Nour party rejected reports about a meeting between the party's leaders and Israel's ambassador to Egypt, and described the reports as smear campaign to defame the Islamist party. "Al-Nour party can in no way ignore the Arab nations and Arab world's rights and the restoration of these rights is an unchangeable principle of the party," Nader Bakar said. "Al-Nour is against the establishment of any relations with the Zionist regime," he stated. The spokesman underlined that his party would certainly strive to change the Camp David Accord in the interests of Egyptian nation. The Salafi al-Nour is among the two main Islamist parties that won a majority of votes in both the first the second rounds of Egypt's parliamentary. It has won 20% of ballots. Earlier, a spokesman of Ikhwan Al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood), Egypt's main Islamic party whose offshoots won the recent parliamentary elections also voiced the strong opposition of the new Egypt to ties with Israel, and underlined that the new Egyptian government will try to end the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip. "Cairo will never allow a continuation of the Gaza blockade," Mahmoud Ghazlan told FNA. Ghazlan blasted the former Egyptian regime's silence over Israel's crimes against the innocent people of the Gaza Strip, and said the new regime in Cairo will certainly pick up a new approach towards Palestine and the Palestinian issue.