Via Friday-Lunch-Club
From OxFan [excerpts]
".... Israel regards Egypt as an important partner, and their strategic and security cooperation is at its highest in years. Nevertheless, there are also points of tension, especially stemming from Israeli perceptions of Egyptian public opinion.
In the absence of full 'normalisation' in Israeli-Egyptian relations, Israel has become accustomed to a minimalistic interpretation of peace. Acknowledging limits on relations, it makes the most of military cooperation and a certain level of strategic partnership.
..... Israel regards Cairo's role as important and complementary to its own interests, since both states share security interests vis-a-vis the Gaza strip and regional stability; and Egypt maintains significant, if declining, regional influence. ..... Israel considers Cairo's influence on Hamas to have declined ...to Israel's benefit: during its December 2008-January 2009 offensive in Gaza, Egypt stood against Hamas, and it is currently building a wall along its border with Gaza. These policies provoke domestic dissent, but pro-Gaza Egyptian activism faces zero-tolerance security measures....
Israeli-Egyptian security cooperation includes information sharing and border control, particularly concerning smuggling of weapons, people and dual-use goods that may be used to manufacture arms. There is a joint military committee that meets regularly, although urgent issues, such as Israel-Hamas negotiations, are dealt with cooperatively by the highest political and security figures.
Despite some disillusionment with Hamas, the Egyptian public maintains a strong sense of solidarity with the Palestinians as a whole. Israel has become used to state policies and social trends influenced by this:
However, the MB has faced a harsh crackdown in recent months in the run-up to parliamentary elections in June and November. Approximately 5,000 are in administrative detention. Senior members are unable to leave the country and are closely monitored. In light of this control, the 'Islamisation' of Egyptian society at present poses little threat to Israel. However, Israeli leaders view these developments as potential long-term security concerns.
- Individuals who wish to visit Israel must attend security investigations before and after travelling.
- Hala Mustafa, a political analyst at state daily al-Ahram, was publicly chastised after the Israeli ambassador visited her office in September. Other journalists have been criticised, or even banned from writing, for researching in Israel or with Israelis.
- The actor, Amr Waked, was threatened with boycott in September after working with an Israeli actor in a UK television production, and Ahmed Abdalla, director of the Egyptian film 'Heliopolis', boycotted the Toronto International Film Festival last year in protest against its inclusion of Israeli films. In March, a film festival at Cairo's French Cultural Centre was pressured to remove an Israeli film from its schedule.
- Professional syndicates threaten to revoke the licences of members who have any contact with Israelis.
Israel perceives Egypt's public as largely unconcerned with Iran's rising influence. However, tension in state-level Egyptian-Iranian relations is reassuring for Israel, which sees Cairo as key to balancing Iran's power, and a partner in challenging what it sees as a 'radical' axis comprising Iran, Syria and Hizbollah. Though there is no joint policy towards Iran, bilateral meetings stress the shared importance of the Iranian issue. ........ Although Egypt is wary of Iran's ambitions, it is keen to use the issue to pressure Israel on its own nuclear programme, and will reiterate its call for a region free of nuclear weapons at the UN NPT conference beginning today.
Given state-level security cooperation and anti-Israeli public sentiment in Egypt, Israel places great importance on continuity when the next president takes power. The two most likely candidates, Mubarak's son, Gamal, or military chief Omar Suleiman, represent for Israel a continuation of the current establishment...."
Israel has viewed with caution the apparent 'Islamisation' of Egyptian society .....
Posted by G, Z, or B at 2:52 PM
Uprooted Palestinian
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