Egyptian industrialists warned Tuesday they will boycott Israeli products if violence continues in the Palestinian territories.
"At the request of businesses, the Union of Chamber of Commences has decided it will boycott Israeli products, in other words stop their importation into Egypt, as a sign of solidarity with the Intifada (uprising) if the violence continues," said Khaled Abu Ismail, the union's president.
A similar threat was issued by the shipping industry union in Alexandria.
Israel exported goods to Egypt totaling 54.4 million dollars in 1999, nearly three times as much as the year before, according to the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
It was unclear if the unions' threatened boycott would apply to Egyptian firms that do business with Israel.
Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, sent 180 million dollars worth of exports to the Jewish state in 1999, almost all of it oil -- CAIRO (AFP)
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