Peres prefers absence of democracy to religious authority in Egypt

[ 31/01/2011 - 03:05 PM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli president Shimon Peres said that he preferred the absence of democracy in Egypt, in reference to the rule of president Hosni Mubarak, to the presence of a religious authority.

In the first such commentary on the conditions in Egypt, Peres said on Monday that a fanatic religious authority in Cairo would not be better than absence of democracy.

Peres, who was receiving credentials of newly appointed ambassadors to Israel, said that he respected Mubarak and appreciated the fact that he preserved the peace treaty with Israel.

For his part, Shaul Mofaz, the head of the parliamentary foreign and security affairs committee, told the Israeli radio that Israel should not interfere in Egyptian internal affairs.

Mofaz, a leading figure in the opposition Kadima party, said that Israel should nonetheless stick to the peace treaty with Egypt.

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