ISRAELI PRIME minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a democratic Egypt will not threaten the peace with Israel.
His comments, during a debate in the Knesset parliament, seemed to mark a shift in Israeli policy. Although Jerusalem has kept a low profile since protesters took to the streets in Egypt, officials have stressed the need to preserve “regional stability”, maintain the peace and prevent the rise to power of radical Islamic groups.
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was praised for maintaining the peace treaty signed between Israel and its most powerful neighbour in 1979.
Mr Netanyahu, perhaps sensing the way the wind was blowing, told the Knesset plenum the desire for change in Egypt was understandable. “All those who value freedom are inspired by the calls for democratic reforms in Egypt. An Egypt that will adopt these reforms will be a source of hope for the world, the region and us. As much as the foundations for democracy are stronger, the foundations for peace are stronger,” he said.
Israel, he said, supports forces which advance freedom and peace, and opposes forces which promote terror and war.
He warned that Iran was hoping for a different outcome in Egypt. “Tehran is waiting for the day in which darkness descends. They are not interested in the Egyptian citizens’ aspirations for freedom, just as they were uninterested in such cries from the Iranian people,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu expressed the hope the changes in Egypt could have a positive impact on the deadlocked peace talks with the Palestinians. “I hope that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas will see the changes in the region as an opportunity and even a push to sit with us and negotiate in a way that takes into consideration how these events influence Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
He stressed that signing a peace treaty is not itself a guarantee of peace. “In order to protect ourselves, in cases in which the peace agreement disappears or is violated due to a regime change on the other side, we protect it with security arrangements on the ground,” he said.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni expressed the hope the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty will be preserved despite the changes taking place. “I suspect that the prime minister will do what he usually does, which is to take advantage of uncertainty to raise our fear and suspicions,” she said.