First published by the New York Times, in 2018
The New York Times published an audio leak on Saturday revealing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s tacit acceptance of Washington’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital , move its embassy there, and promote Ramallah as an alternative capital.
The newspaper reported that an Egyptian intelligence officer named Ashraf al-Kholi telephoned the hosts of several influential talk show hosts in Egypt and told them that Cairo , like all its Arab brethren on the issue of Jerusalem, would outwardly condemn US President Donald Trump’s decision . However, what is important to Egypt is ending the suffering of the Palestinians through a political solution embodying Ramallah as the capital of Palestine instead of Jerusalem.
The New York Times added that the Egyptian officer asked the presenters to persuade viewers to accept Trump’s decision rather than condemn it, stressing that the conflict with Israel is not in Egypt’s national interest.
The newspaper explained that Al-Khawli requested this from four media figures, according to four audio recordings of his phone calls: Azmy Megahed, Mufid Fawzy, Saeed Hassaseen, and actress Yousra. The newspaper added that only one media figure, Megahed, confirmed the authenticity of the recording.
In the leaked recording of Khawli’s conversation with Hassaseen, the latter tells the officer, “I am at your command.” Khawli adds, “We, like all our Arab brothers, will denounce this matter.” He adds, “After that, this will become a reality. The Palestinians cannot resist, and we do not want to go to war. We have enough worries, as you know.”
The Egyptian intelligence officer added, “The dangerous point for us is the issue of the uprising. An uprising will not serve Egypt’s national security interests because it will revitalize the Islamists and Hamas . Hamas will be reborn.”
In contrast, an Egyptian journalist close to the government doubted that the leak regarding the status of Jerusalem reflected the Egyptian viewpoint.
In a previous Al Jazeera newsletter, Magdy Shandy, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al-Mashhad newspaper, stated that Egypt’s official position is to oppose Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that Egypt has been active in various forums, including the United Nations, based on this position.
advertisement
