CAIRO: Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis adamantly denied reports of Israeli experts working in the High Dam. In a statement sent to Daily News Egypt, the minister confirmed that there are no Israelis working in the high dam. "There is a new project to renew the generators and extend their expiry dates for up to 40 years, he said, which will indeed be carried out by foreign experts, but they will not be allowed inside the generators. They also must have permission from security officials to work on site. Younis said the High Dam's generators saved Egypt from consuming 62.5 million tons of petrol. It generates 10 billion kilos per hour annually, which represents 10 percent of the total generated power. Former Minister of Construction and Land Reclamation Hasaballah Kafrawy claimed that Israeli personnel operate and move freely throughout the High Dam, which is one of Egypt's vital strategic locations. Meanwhile, a number of Egyptian workers in the High Dam confirmed the presence of foreign experts, including Israeli consultants. The workers told local newspapers that they have already expressed how disturbed they are by the presence of Israelis among them, adding that they called for their expulsion. After these reports, the opposition demanded that President Hosni Mubarak open an investigation into the "scandal and called for their immediate expulsion. Gamal Zahran, member in the civil defense committee told Daily News Egypt, "We received information that there are American and Israeli experts in the High Dam and we reject the idea strongly but then the government denied the reports and confirmed that there is no such thing, so we are hoping that they are telling the truth. Mohamed El-Beltagy, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc, told Daily News Egypt that "the minister is responsible politically and morally for not allowing Israelis in the High Dam. El-Beltagy added that the presence of Israeli personnel in national projects such as the High Dam is an issue of national security. Members of the National Democratic Party were highly skeptical of the allegations made by Kafrawy, saying that President Mubarak would never permit the presence of Israelis in the High Dam or any "strategic national project.
