Will public opposition stop proposed Egypt-Israel railway dead in its tracks?

CAIRO — Egypt witnessed a new political storm following reports of a recent meeting between Israel's ambassador to Cairo, David Govrin, and prominent Egyptian sociologist and director of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, at the latter’s house.

Although Egypt and Israel signed a peace deal in 1978 and the two countries' security forces cooperate in the Sinai, there are minimal people-to-people relations and ties with Israel remain a touchy topic among the Egyptian public.