Egyptian presidential candidates agree Israel is an enemy

The two leading candidates to become Egypt's first democratically elected president both stated that Israel is an enemy of the country during a heated televised debate on Thursday.

The country has a long-standing peace treaty with the Jewish state, but since the overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising last year there has been increased pressure on Egyptian leaders to abandon the pact.

Former Arab League head Amr Moussa and former Muslim Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, the two leading candidates in the country's first presidential elections since the overthrow of Mubarak, both said Israel was an enemy and condemned its flagrant abuses of international laws.

"Israel is an enemy which is built on occupation, owns 200 nuclear warheads, doesn't respect international decisions and attacks religious symbols. The majority of Egyptians are enemies of Israel," Fotouh said.

Fotouh called on the treaty with Israel to be "revised" in favor of Egypt, while Moussa said that he would change the wording of the agreement.

The former Egyptian foreign minister, known for his fiery anti-Israeli rhetoric, added that he supported the Palestinian cause and is in favor of Jerusalem being the capital of the Palestinian state.

However Fotouh accused him of hypocrisy as Moussa allegedly played a role in the export of gas into Israel.

(Al-Akhbar)