"In exploring the 'claim,' which has been hotly debated in Egypt's parliament this week, Abed el-Aziz Sayef a-Nasser, an aide to the Egyptian foreign minister, was called as an expert witness. A-Nasser is the director of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's legal department. "Eilat, or by its former name Umm Rashrash, belongs to the Palestinians," he said on behalf of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. His predecessor, Dr. Nabil el-Arabi, was the head of the Foreign Ministry's legal department and headed the delegation for negotiations at Taba. He also emphatically maintained: "Eilat belongs to the Palestinians."