Egypt denounces New York Times report on Cairo's acceptance of Trump's Jerusalem decision
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E-mail Xinhua, January 8, 2018
Egypt on Sunday denounced a New York Times report alleging Egypt's acceptance of U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The Saturday report, written by David Kirkpatrick, the Times' international correspondent in London, claimed to have obtained audio recordings of telephone conversations between an Egyptian intelligence official and Egyptian TV talk show hosts.
The Egyptian official, known as "Ashraf al-Kholi," instructed celebrities, including TV hosts Mofid Fawzy, Saeed Hasaseen, Azmi Megahed and popular actress Yousra, to persuade their audiences to accept Trump's Jerusalem decision.
In a press statement, Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) denied the article's identification of the people as "hosts of several influential talk shows in Egypt."
"Mofid Fawzy is a journalist who stopped TV presenting years ago contrary to the claim made in the Times' report," the SIS said.
It added that Hassaseen's talk show had stopped several weeks before Trump's announcement on Jerusalem and Hassaseen himself is not currently presenting any other TV show.
"Hassaseen denied that he received such a phone call on Jerusalem, affirming that he does not know any man by the name of Ashraf al-Kholi," the statement said.
Yousra, a renowned movie star in Egypt and Arab world, has denied knowing anyone by the name of Ashraf al-Kholi or that she discussed with anyone the issue of Jerusalem, the statement said, adding that she was not in Egypt during the period specified in the report.
The SIS revealed that Yousra would seek legal action for defamation by the Times report.
Megahed, another talk show host mentioned in the report, has also completely denied knowing a man by the name of Ashraf al-Kholi, it said.
The SIS also dismissed the claim by the Times' report that "Captain Ashraf al-Kholi" is an officer with the Egyptian General Intelligence.
It asserted that Egypt's position on international issues is conveyed by the president, the minister of foreign affairs and official statements, not by "alleged leaks from an anonymous source."
Shortly after Trump's Jerusalem decision, Egypt submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council demanding its reversal, but it was vetoed by the United States.
Egypt also voted against the U.S. Jerusalem decision in a vote held at the UN General Assembly despite the threat by the U.S. to cut off aid to countries that oppose it.
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