Riot at Israeli embassy in Cairo
Riot at Israeli embassy in CairoIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Egyptian jurists and politicians have issued calls to "liberate" the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, and to restore Egypt's leading role in the Arab world.

Participants in a news conference in Cairo on October 25 said that the "liberation" of Jerusalem by Muslims will be accomplished "without a doubt" by the present generation, which brought about the change in Arab regimes, and that the peace treaty with Israel was just an act of deception that led to the "loss of the homeland."

Ambassador Abdullah al-Ashal, a former aide to the foreign minister, took part in the news conference held by the Diplomatic Committee of the Egyptian Bar Association. He said that "talk of peace with the Zionists must not be believed," and that "no ties between Egypt and Israel are taking place under the present government," because "the Palestinian question is a national one for Egypt."

Bar Association Council member Mamdouh Ismail said that recent Islamist revolutions herald the beginning of the process that will lead to the liberation of Al Aqsa and Jerusalem. He said that it is obvious that weakness and fear have overcome Israel since the "stabilization" of the Arab regimes in the region. The loss of Jerusalem to Israel, he said, was the result of the weakness of the Arab regimes and their collaboration with the West.