Egypt questions Israel’s tribute to ‘spies’

Egypt is astonished at Israel's tribute to nine Egyptian Jews recruited by the Jewish state to carry out "terrorist operations" in Cairo and Alexandria in the 1950s, the foreign minister said.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav last week honored the Egyptian Jews recruited by Israel as agents to ruin Cairo's rapprochement with the United States and Britain by firebombing sites frequented by foreigners the cities.

Israel hoped the attacks, which caused no casualties, would be blamed on local insurgents. But the young Zionist bombers were caught and confessed at public trials. Two were hanged and the rest served jail terms and immigrated to Israel.

"We are utterly astonished at this tribute, especially at this time after 50 years have passed since they carried out (the attacks)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said late on Saturday.

"What calls for astonishment in this matter is that those people were Jewish Egyptians and, likewise, they carried out explosions in cinemas and in American and British establishments in Egypt and they are all clear terrorist operations."

Egypt made peace with Israel in 1979. It was the first Arab state to do so.