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Improved Israeli-Egyptian Relations Have Not Yet Reached the Street

(Israel Hayom) Prof. Eyal Zisser - Both Israel and Egypt are tackling the spread of Islamist extremism, spearheaded by the Islamic State's Sinai branch. Both believe the fight against ISIS in Sinai necessitates confronting Hamas in Gaza. However, the improved diplomatic and security relationship between the countries still has not trickled down to the street. A large portion of the Egyptian public still exhibits open hostility toward Israel in an almost Pavlovian manner. At the same time, even among customarily hostile circles in Egypt, calls for war against Israel or the severing of diplomatic ties are absent from the current discourse. Preserving the peace accord with Israel is viewed as a clear national interest, and a widespread consensus on this matter transverses all layers of Egyptian society. The argument is over expanding the relationship to the economic and cultural spheres, and in this regard many Egyptians remain hostile toward Israel. Incidentally, replace the name Egypt with Jordan in this article and it would perfectly describe the relationship between Jerusalem and Amman. The writer is former director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2016-03-07 00:00:00
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