Turkey-based TV airs Egyptian intelligence recordings on Jerusalem

A Turkey-based TV station has released audio recordings reportedly of an Egyptian intelligence officer asking influential hosts in Egypt to persuade their viewers to accept a US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The phone conversations in Arabic, released by Mekameleen TV late on Sunday, were first reported on Saturday by The New York Times. The article said Cairo allegedly instructed talk show hosts to persuade viewers to accept the US move.

Istanbul-based Arabic language channel, Mekameleen TV, is run mostly by exiled Egyptians.

In the tapes, an Egyptian intelligence officer identified by some media outlets as Captain Ashraf Al Kholi calls hosts of several influential talks shows and tells them to persuade the audience to accept the US decision instead of condemning it.

In a statement on Sunday, the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) said the NY Times report was a “mere allegation.”

It said people cited by the US daily were not either TV hosts or had stopped appearing on television even before Trump’s Jerusalem move.

Egypt submitted a UN Security Council resolution demanding a reversal of Trump’s move on Jerusalem, but the resolution was vetoed by Washington.

On December 21, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution, co-sponsored by Turkey and Yemen, rejecting Trump’s move on Jerusalem.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with some Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem—occupied by Israel since 1967—might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.