Here’s every major Arab political pathology rolled into one: hysterical victimization, shameless religious demagoguery, and of course genocidal intent.

The kicker? He belongs to the same party as our man in Cairo:

“That cursed Israel is trying to destroy al-Aqsa mosque…Nothing will work with Israel except for a nuclear bomb that wipes it out of existence.” Mohamed el-Katatny of President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) told the Egyptian Parliament.

During the special parliamentary meeting, which was convened to discuss controversial renovations near the Mugrabi Gate in East Jerusalem, other members of el-Katatny’s party called to revoke Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

“The war with Israel is still ongoing whether we like it or not,” NDP legislator Khalifa Radwan said.

There’s one other pathology here, but this one’s true of all politics — cynical opportunism. He wants nukes, but not because he gives a wet shinola about Israel. Like the rest of the Sunnis, he’s worried about Iran; that’s why Egypt’s been talking about developing nuclear “energy” for months. The evil Jews’ crimes play better with the public, though, so he and Mubarak are going to leverage the scapegoat here to advance their real agenda a bit.

Just how cynical is this? Even the Muslims closest to the mosque say it’s no big deal:

A spokesman for the Waqf, the Moslem clerical body which oversees matters pertaining to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also said he believed the Mugrabi construction is unlikely to cause problems, though he refused to be quoted by name.

Exit question: This is potentially important, isn’t it?