Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Zaqzouq may visit Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Authority paper Al-Hayyat al-Jedidah. Egyptian visits to Israel have been rare, and almost all official meetings between Israeli and Egyptian officials have taken place in Egypt.
Zaqzouq's opponents criticized the move as a step towards normalizing ties with Israel.
Zaqzouq told reporters that his visit, if it does take place, will not be meant as a gesture to Israel. Rather, he said, he sees a trip to Jerusalem as a way to show support for Palestnian Authority Arabs.
The minister, who oversees Muslim affairs in Egypt, is considered a political moderate in his home country. He has stated that terrorism violates the tenets of Islam.
Egyptian officials' avoidance of travel to Israel has caused tension in the past. In 2008, then-MK Avigdor Lieberman – today the Foreign Minister – took offense at the fact that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had never visited Israel, and said that if Mubarak refused to visit Israel “he can go jump in a lake.”
In May of this year, Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omer Suleiman visited Israel and met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The two discussed talks for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Egypt has acted as an intermediary in negotiations between Hamas and Israel, and also mediates reunification talks between Hamas and Fatah.