CAIRO: The Egyptian government promised to implement a recently upheld Administrative Court verdict to stop gas exports to Israel, as soon as the results of the appeal are announced in February. "The Minister of Petroleum said that he will stop exporting gas to Israel but was waiting for the Administrative Court to issue its third and final verdict in the case, National Democratic Party (NDP) MP Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah said. The government had refused to implement the court's previous two rulings stipulating a halt on Egyptian gas exports to Israel, the last of which was issued a week ago. Muslim Brotherhood MP Sobhy Saleh denounced the appeal, saying that "Egyptian gas is not owned by the NDP and the future of Egypt is not tied to the NDP's decisions. Saleh blamed the Egyptian government for failing to resolve the conflict in Gaza, adding that the government s stance is worse than that of Israel's. He warned that the government will lose its ruling power should it continue with this "attitude regarding the Palestinian crisis. Kwaitah responded by saying that "Egypt s efforts are still ongoing. Over the past four days, the Egyptian parliament witnessed heated debates about the Israeli war on Gaza and Egypt s reaction to it. According to Kwaitah the opposition's long called for request to expel the Israeli ambassador and cut all diplomatic ties with Israel will be of no use now. "We need to keep all means of communications open in order to reach a lasting and quick solution to the crisis, he explained. Salah also condemned Israeli's attacks on Egyptian Rafah on Monday that injured five Egyptians, including two children aged two and five. "The attack was domestic and the apology was pathetic, Saleh said. He further stated that Egyptian blood is worth more than an apology and added that the government "will pay the price for its passive position in this war. While Kuwaitah echoed the same sentiments, saying that an apology was not enough, he said that it may be accepted "if Israel compensates for the damages it caused in Rafah and for the casualties and their families and pledges never to do it again. Hossam Zaki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the press that Egypt has accepted Israeli's apology, adding that the official apology of a government "is very significant and weighs a lot diplomatically.
