Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 23 December 2003 — Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who came here to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, was attacked yesterday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem by extremists. He was not injured.

Maher was trying to pray when a small group of extremist worshipers started shouting at him and trying to assault him, witnesses said.

Bodyguards surrounded him and hustled him out of the compound, supporting him briefly as he appeared to lose his balance. Witnesses heard him saying, “I’m going to choke, I’m going to choke,” as people threw shoes at him both inside and outside the mosque.

Maher exited the compound at a gate above the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site, and entered an Israeli ambulance, where medics treated him. Half an hour later, Maher was being taken to an Israeli hospital, police said.

Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak said he deeply regretted the attack on Maher.

President Mubarak “deeply regrets the attempt made by a small group of irresponsible Palestinians to assault Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher”, said a statement from the presidency read by a television presenter.

The Palestinian Authority also denounced the attack. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the assault on Mr. Maher. Mr. Maher’s visit to Israel was fully coordinated with Palestinian leadership, and the aim of the visit is to break the vicious cycle of violence and revive the peace process,” said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat.

Earlier, in diplomatic contacts, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicated to Maher that Israel would respond favorably to a cease-fire offer from Palestinians, an Israeli official said. Maher met with Sharon and other senior Israeli officials during his first trip to Israel in more than two years.

Meanwhile, two Israelis and a Palestinian were killed in an armed clash in the central Gaza Strip yesterday evening, Israeli media and Palestinian sources said.