Credit is due to the good offices of the attorney-general.
The reconciliation put an end to the bitter disagreement over the role of the press and the public's right to information, as well as state officials' right to reply, explain and defend themselves. It has been implicitly understood that both parties to potential conflicts must act in good faith, keeping the public interest in mind. After a number of attempts at reconciliation which failed due to the entrenchment of positions, further pressure was exerted to defuse the conflict. Both sides were disregarding the danger of dragging Egyptian society as a whole into the dispute, of disrupting the environment of nascent democracy and freedom, and of undermining efforts to establish respect for boundaries which must not be trespassed. Eventually, a successful conclusion was reached after tensions had simmered for two years, creating a difficult situation for the press, drawing ever larger numbers of journalists into the dispute, and leading to the incarceration of honest journalists such as Gamal Fahmi, who is till paying the price of this colossal misunderstanding.