harm el-Sheikh, Egypt— I was only two questions into the interview when an Egyptian cabinet minister, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, jumped out of his chair to stop our conversation.

Gamal looked at the minister and indicated he was determined to continue. His 26- year-old wife Khadiga walked closer to our interview with great interest.

done

I continued with my question…

“Rockets are still being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. Why is that continuing?”

“I know this problem,” Mubarak told me. “It is a challenge. Some members of (U.S.) Congress have been raising this, and I met with a Congressional delegation. I said, nobody should think for a second that Egypt is turning a blind eye on the smuggling. The Israelis have to deal on their side too. No border, even the US-Mexican border is totally sealed. We’re doing our all and I have to assume the Israelis are doing their all too.”

If you don’t know Gamal Mubarak, chances are good in the coming years you’ll hear more from the 45-year-old Egyptian politician. Many Egyptians and Middle East analysts believe when his 80- year-old father is no longer president he’ll likely take over. When I asked him about inheriting power from his father he said,

“That’s just speculation.”

One senior western diplomat, who recently met with Gamal at the World Economic Forum in Sharm el- Sheikh, Egypt, told Fox News he’s impressed with him and how involved he is within the international political arena.

The diplomat said, “There’s no doubt Gamal represents a new generation of rising young leaders in the Middle East.”

But that hasn’t stopped the criticism directed at him and his father. Egyptian rights activists argue that a dynastic succession is undemocractic…and exactly the opposite of President George W. Bush’s vision for the Middle East.