Jerusalem: An aide to Israel's prime minister on Wednesday denied a claim that Israel offered asylum to Egypt's deposed President Hosni Mubarak several months ago.
The claim came from lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former Israeli defense minister, army general and longtime friend of the ousted Egyptian leader.
He told Army Radio he proposed that Mubarak seek asylum in Israel's Red Sea port city of Eilat, on Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai desert.
He said the offer was made while Mubarak was still president, during a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort also on the Red Sea.
"I met him in Sharm el-Sheikh and told him that the distance was very short, and perhaps this would be a good time for him to heal himself," Ben-Eliezer said. "I am sure the Israeli government would have accepted him, but he refused because he is a patriot."
Ben-Eliezer said the offer came from him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Roni Sofer, an aide to Netanyahu, flatly denied that. "It never happened," Sofer told The Associated Press. "The prime minister never offered Mubarak asylum."
Ben-Eliezer's spokesman said he would make no further statements on Wednesday.
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