Egypt still abiding by Camp David Accords

TEHRAN,Nov.10(MNA)--Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s recent controversial letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres and the subsequent confiscation of some 1.7 million documents that were reportedly about to be shipped out of Egypt to Israel again raised questions about where Egypt-Israel relations are going in the wake of the January 25 revolution. Some observers say that Egypt-Israel relations have not significantly changed compared to the situation during the Hosni Mubarak era and Morsi will continue to abide by the Camp David Accords, a treaty which was signed by Egypt and Israel in 1978. In his recent letter to Peres, Morsi allegedly stated, “I am looking forward to exerting our best efforts to get the Middle East peace process back to its right track in order to establish security and stability for all peoples of the region, including the Israeli people,” which is similar to Mubarak’s correspondence with Israeli officials. Although Egyptian officials have denied that Morsi sent such a letter, there are clear signs indicating that the Egyptian government lacks the determination necessary to significantly revise its relations with Israel. However, this does not necessarily mean that there will be no change. During his trips to Iran and the United Nations, Morsi criticized Israel over its refusal to abide by UN resolutions and condemned it for continuing to expand settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Other observers say that Morsi’s reluctance to revise Egypt’s relations with Israel is due to some internal pressure, especially from the remnants of the Mubarak regime and secular groups. There is even speculation that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood made a secret deal with the army generals during the election campaign in which they pledged to maintain bilateral ties with Israel. It is common knowledge that Morsi has liberal Islamist ideas, and the fact that he studied in the United States has made him more lenient toward the West. And the intensification of Egypt’s economic problems and its need for U.S. financial assistance are regarded as two more reasons for Morsi’s soft stance toward Israel. In light of all this, it can be said that Egypt-Israel relations will continue to be a very problematic issue for Morsi. However, the downgrading of ties with Israel is the minimum expectation of the people who rose up against Mubarak and navigated the Egyptian revolution to victory. Ahmad Bakhshi is the head of the Department of African Studies at Tehran’s Tarbiat-e-Modarres University. (By Ahmad Bakhshi )