JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Egyptian pledge to respect international treaties

Record ID: 397236

  • Title: JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes Egyptian pledge to respect international treaties
  • Date: 14th February 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINE READING 'AFTER NEARLY 30 YEARS IN POWER, MUBARAK FORCED OUT BY 18 DAYS OF MASS PROTESTS' NEWSPAPER HEADLINE READING 'NEW EGYPT'
  • Embargoed: 1st March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem, Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5CU3121PB2H4X5HU4AKV5XM8A
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced hope for regional stability on Sunday (February 13), after a pledge by the Egyptian military to stand by Cairo's peace treaty with the Jewish state.
    "The Israeli government welcomes the announcement by Egypt's military (saying) that Egypt will continue to respect its peace treaty with Israel. The peace accord with Israel is long-standing. All of Egypt's governments throughout the years kept, nurtured and advanced it. We believe that it is a cornerstone of peace and stability not only for the two countries but for the whole region," Netanyahu told his cabinet at the start of a weekly meeting in Jerusalem.
    Netanyahu's comments followed a statement by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's office, saying that he had made initial contact with Egypt's new military rulers by speaking to Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's Higher Military Council, over the phone on Saturday (February 12).
    Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, which watched warily throughout the weeks of protests that brought down President Hosni Mubarak on Friday (February 11).
    Saturday's message from Egypt's military leaders appeared to be aimed at soothing concerns in Israel and the United States about the U.S.-brokered peace pact that ended three decades of hostilities.
    But many analysts foresee a more testy and uncomfortable relationship in the years ahead. Netanyahu cautioned last week an Iran-style Islamist revolution could take place in Egypt should Mubarak's Muslim Brotherhood rivals eventually take over.
    Professor Efraim Inbar, Director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said it was too early to make an educated prediction on whether radical Islamic elements will take over Egypt's politics. But in such a scenario, he said, Israel should be concerned.
    "I don't think that democracy in Egypt, if the elections are won by the Islamic Brothers, will bring about peace and stability," Inbar told Reuters in Jerusalem.
    "It's quite clear that the Israeli military -- in strategic thinking -- has to take into consideration the possibility that in a very short time Egypt will change its colours, will leave the Western camp and will become part of the radical alliance in the Middle East which is led by Iran," he added.
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