Egypt cuts ties with Israel

Egypt is to suspend all contacts with Israel except any diplomatic ties that might help the Palestinians, the Egyptian minister of information, Safwat el-Sherif, announced today.
Mr Sherif was quoted by Egypt's Middle East news agency as saying Egypt would limit its contacts with Israel to those that "serve the Palestinian cause", indicating the move falls short of cutting all ties.

Egypt, one of only three Arab states with diplomatic relations with Israel, has been under pressure to cut its diplomatic ties altogether and freeze its 1979 peace treaty with the Jewish state.

The Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, sent a message to the US president, George Bush, yesterday urging him to "take immediate action" to stop the Israeli offensive.