The arrest of Ali Maher Pasha, former Prime Minister of Egypt, for “reasons relating to the safety of the state” has aroused great interest in Zionist circles here since the former prime minister was a leading spokesman for Arabs in connection with Palestine.
In 1938 he headed the Egyptian delegation to the Palestine conference held at St. James Palace here and in 1939 he was active in negotiating for the return to Palestine of exiled Arab leader. He resigned as prime minister in June, 1940 reportedly as a result of British dissatisfaction with Egypt’s attitude towards the war against Italy. His arrest recalls the flight last May of General Azis elMazi Pasha who fled Egypt with two aides and presumably established contact with the Germans and Italians in Libya. It has not been established yet whether Maher was directly involved in pro-Axis intrigues since the Egyptian government has not issued any details concerning his arrest.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
