Cairo: Egyptian parliament Wednesday evening agreed with a majority to strip maverick MP Tawfik Okasha of his membership, days after he had met the Israeli ambassador in Cairo.
Some 403 or more than two thirds of the assembly’s members voted for revoking Okasha’s membership after most members refused an earlier proposal to punish him for the meeting by depriving him of attending the sessions until the summer recess.
Okasha did not attend the voting conducted by raising hands.
The move against him marks the first instance of stripping a parliamentarian’s membership since the legislature was inaugurated in January.
Last week, Okasha met Israel’s ambassador to Egypt Haim Koren, drawing condemnations from other MPs and many Egyptians on social media.
Okasha said he had discussed with the diplomat the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a possible mediation by Israel in Ethiopia’s construction of a disputed dam, which Egypt fears will harm its water quota.
The meeting, held over a dinner in Okasha’s house, is believed to be the first of its kind between an Egyptian lawmaker and an Israeli diplomat since Cairo and Tel Aviv signed a peace treaty in 1979.
Relations between the two countries have often been frosty amid high anti-Israeli feelings among Egyptians.
Egyptian professional unions also bar their members from contacting Israelis.
Several lawmakers called for revoking Okasha’s membership in reaction to his talks with Koren.
The meeting broke a long taboo in the assembly’s view of links with Israel.
Okasha shrugged off the criticism, saying he had notified authorities before meeting the Israeli diplomat.
MP Kamal Ahmad, a sharp critic of ties with Israel, this week hit Okasha with a shoe inside the chamber in an expression of anger.
