CAIRO, Mar 2 (Aswat Masriya) - Controversial public figure Tawfik Okasha was expelled from Egypt's House of Representatives on Wednesday because of his recent meeting with the Israeli ambassador.

A majority of House members, 465 out of 596, voted in favour of removing Okasha who has come under fire over a meeting with Ambassador Haim Koren last week.  

Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and was the first Arab country to recognise Israel but tensions between the two countries still exist on the popular level. On Sunday, a lawmaker threw his shoe at Okasha because of the meeting with Koren and the House referred Okasha to investigation on the same day.

A special committee that investigated Okasha recommended depriving him from participating in the House's activities until the end of the legislative session but the House rejected the recommendation.

The Egyptian constitution stipulates that the membership of a lawmaker can be suspended if a two-third of members majority, or 396 lawmakers approve. 

House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal said today's decision to expel Okasha falls under the disciplinary actions stipulated in the legislature's bylaws.

Diplomatic ties between Egypt and Israel have been fully restored after being scaled back in recent years. Just last week, Egypt's ambassador to Israel presented his diplomatic credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, marking the end of a three-year period without an Egyptian ambassador in Israel.

Following his expulsion, Okasha's television channel al-Faraeen TV was shut down. An announcement aired on the channel said it is suspending airing programmes and that it was up for sale.

Okasha is known for his vocal political criticism and his unique, sometimes derisive attitude, with many of his monologues becoming the centre of ridicule on social media, often turning into memes.

He once tried his luck in politics before, proceeding to establish a political party in 2013 and announcing his intention to run for president.

Okasha was a member of The National Party of Egypt established in August 2011, an off-shoot of of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's now-defunct National Democratic Party. He contested but failed to win a seat in the 2012 parliament.

Over the past few years, he had several run-ins with the law. Although courts have ruled in his favour in many of the charges he faced, including insulting former president Mohamed Mursi, Okasha was found guilty in three cases for squandering marital funds, beating and slandering his ex-wife. He was arrested in August 2015, but was released on bail days later.