Egypt’s parliament expels lawmaker for meeting Israel’s ambassador

The Egyptian Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to revoke the membership of MP Tawfiq Okasha after he hosted the Israeli ambassador in his home in Cairo last week.

The parliament’s official website said 465 deputies, more than two-thirds of its members, voted to deprive Tawfiq of his seat on Wednesday.

“The penalty is not over his meeting with the ambassador of a foreign country, but because of the issues discussed during this meeting, in relation to Egypt’s national security,” it said.

The two reportedly discussed Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Although Egypt enjoys close relations with Israel on both a state and military level, the majority of political parties, trade unions and civil society organizations oppose normalising relations with Israel.