ISRAEL IS working with the United States to shore up its peace treaty with Egypt amid growing concern that the Egyptian election may bring to power an Islamic regime hostile to the Jewish state.
Speaking yesterday to the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defence committee, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed alarm over current trends in the Arab world.
“We are witnessing an Islamist wave washing over the Arab world after decades of stable military rule,” he said. “We are facing uncertain times. One cannot estimate how long it will take until things stabilise. We must act responsibly and carefully. This is not the time for rash actions.”
Mr Netanyahu said the “Islamist wave” was “not good for us”, and added that “the stability we have known will change in the coming years – whether it is the US withdrawal from Iraq or Libya’s weapons cache. It’s going to be a bigger challenge for Israel. It reflects directly on our security needs.”
Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Under the agreement, signed between Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, with the mediation of US president Jimmy Carter, Israel returned the Sinai peninsula, captured during the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli war, in return for full diplomatic relations. The peace treaty has been the cornerstone of Israel’s regional policy ever since, and the Egyptian border, until recently, was Israel’s quietest front.
Mr Netanyahu also confirmed he had ordered a delay to the demolition of a temporary wooden bridge connecting the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s old city. Both Egypt and Jordan had warned Israel that the demolition of the link between sites holy to Judaism and Islam could stir tensions.
“The situation is sensitive. It was my assessment that given the demonstrations in Cairo it was not the right time,” Mr Netanyahu explained, although he denied he was bowing to Arab pressure.
The Jerusalem municipality ordered the demolition of the bridge after city engineers deemed it a fire risk. Muslim radicals claimed Israel’s real intention was to replace it with a stronger structure to allow Israeli troops and settlers easy access to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The ramp was meant to be temporary when built in 2004 but fears of Muslim protests prevented construction of a permanent structure.