Egypt Downgrades Ties With Israel

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 04, 2002

Egypt Downgrades Ties With Israel

The Egyptian cabinet on Wednesday decided to sever all relations with the Israeli government, expect those at diplomatic level, in support of the Palestine cause, a senior Egyptian official said.

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The Egyptian cabinet on Wednesday decided to sever all relations with the Israeli government, expect those at diplomatic level, in support of the Palestine cause, a senior Egyptian official said.

The decision was announced by Egyptian Information Minister Safwat El-Sharif after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hosni Mubarak.

Such an Egyptian move came at a time when an Israeli siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his office building in the West Bank city of Ramallah entered its sixth day.

Israeli tanks rolled into Ramallah and shelled Arafat's compound Friday morning, marking the beginning of sweeping military offensives in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Arafat has still been besieged by Israeli troops and tanks despite the mounting call by the international community for Israel to lift its siege on Arafat and fully withdraw from the Palestinian lands.

Early Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that he would allow Arafat to leave his headquarters on condition that Arafat would not return to the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli army continued its "Operation Defensive Wall" in the West Bank towns of Ramallah, Jenin, Bethlehem and Tulkarm on Wednesday.

In Jenin, four people, including three Palestinian militants and a nurse, were killed in a pre-dawn raid by Israeli troops.

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