Cairo: An Egyptian parliamentarian, known for opposing ties with Israel, on Sunday hit a colleague with a shoe because he had met with the Israeli ambassador in Cairo.
Leftist MP Kamal Ahmad shouted “the traitor ... the agent” as he attacked lawmaker and TV personality Tawfik Okasha in the chamber, witnesses said.
The incident, a rarity in Egyptian legislature, prompted the Speaker of parliament, Ali Abdul Aal, to dismiss Ahmad from the session and refer him to an investigation.
Okasha was not hurt, the witnesses said.
Kamal defended his actions.
“I hit him [Okasha] because I was infuriated by his meeting with the Israeli ambassador,” semi-official newspaper Al Ahram quoted him as saying.
“I did nothing other than fulfilling the Egyptian people’s wish. I’ll act in the same time every time I see him.”
On Wednesday, Okasha met Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, Haim Koren, drawing condemnation from other MPs and many Egyptians on social media.
The meeting, held over a dinner in Okasha’s house, is believed to be the first of its kind between an Egyptian lawmaker and an Israeli diplomat since Cairo and Tel Aviv signed a peace treaty in 1979.
Relations between the two countries have often been frosty amid high anti-Israeli sentiment among Egyptians.
Egyptian professional unions also bar their members from contacting Israelis.
Several lawmakers called for the revoking of Okasha’s membership in reaction to his talks with Koren. The parliament on Sunday started an inquiry over the meeting.
Okasha shrugged off the criticism, saying he had notified authorities before meeting the Israeli diplomat.
Okasha, an owner of TV station Al Fareen, is known for his aversion to Islamists.
