Fifty-five Egyptian Members of Parliament submitted a proposal on Monday that would ban Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni from Egypt.  Egyptian officials were upset earlier in the month when Israel reported sending a videotape to the United States showing Egyptian troops helping terrorists smuggle weapons into Gaza.  Officials were outraged when Livni said that Egyptian forces had done a terrible job fighting smuggling, and warned that their failure could harm talks with the Palestinian Authority.

On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit warned that if Israel’s complaints about weapons smuggling damage Egypt’s ties with the US, Egypt will use its diplomatic clout to hurt Israel’s interests.  According to Egyptian sources quoted in Yediot Acharonot, Egypt would make Livni a “persona non grata” in many countries, particularly in Africa, and Egyptian diplomats would use their connections to harm Israel’s diplomatic ties with several countries.