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Israel Cautiously Optimistic on Egypt

(Al-Monitor) Ben Caspit - The Muslim Brotherhood had stepped back from everything to do with Israel. Once Morsi was elected president, he transferred responsibility for Israel to the army. Having recognized their limitations - the Brotherhood could never maintain direct contact with Israel because of a religious prohibition - they gave former Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, and later Gen. Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, total freedom when it came to managing affairs with Israel. As strange as it may sound, security relations between Israel and Egypt improved significantly during this period. Security collaboration was tightened, and the Egyptians were seen taking vigorous action in response to intelligence they received from Israel - two phenomena that didn't exist in the past. Senior defense official and Israeli envoy to Egypt Gen. Amos Gilad continued flying to Cairo, where he received considerable respect from his colleagues. There was a logical explanation for this. Under Mubarak, the Egyptian government was afraid of being portrayed as doing Israel's bidding, fearing harsh criticism from the Muslim Brotherhood. Suddenly, the Muslim Brotherhood was in power, so that fear dissipated and was replaced by a relationship driven by issues.
2013-07-04 00:00:00
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