Cairo: When Hussain Serag, an Egyptian journalist at a semi-official publication in Cairo, learnt that the Press Syndicate had decided to suspend him from work for violating a ban on dealing with Israelis, he was angrily shocked.

"Why shouldn't Egyptian journalists be able to visit Israel and know about the Israeli people? Israeli journalists can visit Egypt and meet Egyptian officials. So why can't Egyptians do the same?" said Serag, the deputy editor of the October magazine.

"This is a stark contradiction, which also deprives the Egyptian readers of the right to learn about the Israelis," he told Gulf News. He added he would sue the union over the decision.

On Tuesday, the Press Syndicate, an independent Union, ordered Serag be suspended from his job for three months for visiting Israel 25 times and meeting Israeli officials and businessmen.

Serag is an expert in Israeli affairs and has already translated into Arabic several Jewish books.

"I cannot comply with this decision," said Majdi Al Daqaq, the editor of the magazine where Serag works. "To prevent a journalist from writing is like throwing him into prison," added Al Daqaq, who is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party.

The decision was the first to be made by the union since it banned contacts with the Israelis in 1985. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. However, anti-Israeli sentiment is high in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country.

The Press Syndicate, meanwhile, warned Hala Mustafa, the editor of the monthly magazine Democratiya (Democracy) published by the state-run press institution Al Ahram, for meeting Israeli Ambassador Shalom Cohen in her office in Cairo last year.

Mustafa, a member of the ruling party, was quoted in the local press as saying that she was not unaware of the union's ban on contacting Israelis.

Anti-Israel writers are, meanwhile, calling on the Press Syndicate to punish three Egyptian journalists, including Serag, for reportedly attending a farewell party for the Israeli ambassador last month.

"These moves reflect the growing opposition to Israel in Egypt despite the official relations between the two countries," said Al Sayyed Awad, a political analyst. "Egyptians, including the professional unions, are displeased with the Israeli policies in the region, particularly towards the Palestinians," he told this newspaper.

Awad expects anti-Israel postures to be more pronounced in Egypt as the country is preparing for parliamentary elections in 2010 and presidential vote next year. "Candidates will have to woo voters, especially the intellectuals, by declaring opposition to dealing with Israel."