Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said on Tuesday he was undaunted by his attack at the hands of Islamic extremists in Jerusalem a day earlier, saying the incident would only strengthen his country's resolve to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But Egypt's tightly controlled press was less upbeat, denouncing the "criminal" attack on the country's top diplomat at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque -- Islam's third holiest shrine -- following a rare meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"We are working so the Palestinian people can regain their rights and achieve peace and sovereignty and establish a Palestinian state," Maher said upon his return to Cairo early on Tuesday. He was accompanied in the plane by diplomats and a doctor from Israel.
"[The attack] is a passing matter that doesn't affect the essence of the Egyptian policy. Nothing will change that."
Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's political department, arrived in Cairo later on Tuesday to apologize.
"My main mission in coming to Egypt, upon the mandate of Palestinian President [Yasser] Arafat, is to present our extreme apology for what happened to Mr. Ahmed Maher during his visit to Jerusalem," Kaddoumi told reporters at the airport.
He called the attackers "a rogue group that has no connection to the Palestinian people."
Kaddoumi, who later said his trip to Cairo was planned before the Al Aqsa incident, was expected to meet Maher yesterday.
The attack, committed by several dozen protesters belonging to a small extremist group called the Islamic Liberation Movement, came after Maher heard a strong indication from the Israelis that while they would not sign a truce with Palestinian militants, they would abide by a ceasefire.
Protesters shoved Maher and hurled verbal abuse at him, saying "You're not welcome here!" and charged that Egypt was helping Israel oppress the Palestinians. "You are collaborating with the killers of Muslims," one shouted.
Israeli police arrested seven suspects in the attack on Maher, who was making his first trip to Israel in more than two years.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Kaddoumi suggested that the attackers "could have been placed by some Israeli groups" after Maher entered the mosque through a different door than planned. He did not elaborate.
Egyptian daily newspapers carried front-page stories denouncing the incident, along with photographs of a visibly shaken Maher being led through the mosque compound by police and security guards.
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