Egypt bans Israel from taking part in Cairo book exhibition

Egypt has renewed its rejection of cultural and artistic normalization with Israel, turning down an Israeli request to take part in the coming Cairo International Book Fair in which some 80 Arab and foreign states will take part.

Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni voiced his opposition to normalizing cultural relations with Israel and described those who favor normalization as "traitors and opportunists."

In press statements in Cairo, Hosni asserted that the "Israeli shallow culture has been surviving on the richness of the Arab culture."

He stated that the Israelis are pressing ahead "in their sinister attempts to forge facts and attribute the Palestinian heritage to them."