Analysis: Israel, Egypt need each other
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Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 26, 2007
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Looking out the panorama windows in the room at the Hotel Royal Golf Resort
where Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on
Wednesday, tourists could be seen strolling along a nearby promenade in shorts
and flip-flops. Others were seen swinging their clubs on the bright green lawn
of the 18-hole golf course.
This week is one of the high tourist seasons in Egypt, with thousands of
Europeans seeking refuge from the cold Christmas holiday back home on the sandy
beaches in Sharm e-Sheikh. Inside the meeting room, however, there was a
different atmosphere, one that was tense but friendly at the same time.
In principle, the Egyptians told Barak, they are not opposed to hearing
criticism. It all depends on the way it is expressed. Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni calling Egypt's security performance along the Philadelphia Corridor on
Monday "deplorable" and harmful to the peace process was the type of language
they were not willing to take lightly.
Barak started off his round of meetings with his counterpart, Egyptian Defense
Minister Muhammad Tantawi. The two have known each other for years, although
their first meeting was under completely different circumstances. During the
Yom Kippur War, both Barak and Tantawi were battalion commanders fighting
against each another in fierce battles at the Chinese Farms. The two met again
on Wednesday, this time exchanging pleasantries, hugs and kisses.
Barak's next meeting was with Chief of the Egyptian Intelligence Services Omar
Suleiman, the feared Egyptian official who is in charge of the "Israeli file"
and particularly the talks Egypt is conducting with Hamas regarding the fate of
kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Schalit.
Barak then met privately with Mubarak and stressed the importance of stopping
weapons smuggling as well as other regional issues, such as the Iranian threat.
Egypt, Israeli defense officials said on the flight back to Israel, is just as
concerned about Iran as Israel is.
In all, Barak and his delegation walked away satisfied from their talks in
Sharm. There were, however, two issues that stood out. The first was Livni's
remarks, which, Barak explained to the Egyptians, did not reflect a change in
Israeli policy. One Egyptian general told Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i
that Mubarak, Tantawi and Suleiman felt comfortable talking to him and to Barak
since - unlike Livni - they were both former generals and "generals know how to
fight and talk."
The second and more disturbing issue for the Egyptians was last week's report
in The Jerusalem Post about Israel's decision to send the US videotapes
allegedly showing Egyptians assisting Palestinian weapon smugglers in Rafah.
The videotapes were sent to Washington last month by Israel's top defense
echelon. The move was intended to influence Congressional hearings on the
future of US foreign military aid to Egypt. After the Post broke the story last
Tuesday, Israel's embassy in Washington was flooded with phone calls from
congressmen on the appropriations committee who were asking to see the
videotapes.
At first, the embassy told callers that the report was false and that it had
been made up by the Post. On Friday, however, the Post published another
article citing senior diplomatic officials who confirmed that the tapes had
indeed been sent by the defense establishment to the embassy in Washington, but
had only been shown to administration officials - from the White House and the
State Department - and not to Congress. Behind the decision was the Foreign
Ministry, which believed that were Israel to show the tapes to Congress and
openly lobby against Egypt, Israeli-Egyptian relations could be irreversibly
damaged. This decision was taken against the recommendation of the defense
establishment.
On Monday, the report again made noise when Likud MK Yuval Steinitz quoted from
it at a session of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee attended by Livni,
who was then compelled to confirm that Israel had sent the tapes to Washington
but decided not to show them to Congress.
At his meetings Wednesday, Barak reiterated Israel's decision not to show the
tapes to Congress, explaining that the only reason the tapes had been sent to
Washington in the first place was because the US administration had asked
Israel to provide evidence for its claim that Egyptian soldiers were helping
Palestinian weapons smugglers.
Despite the tension created by these developments, Israel and Egypt are not
ready give up the strategic alliance they have managed to forge since they
signed a peace agreement almost 30 years ago.
Both countries are also aware that they need one another. Israel sees its peace
with Egypt as a model for other Arab and Muslim countries in the region with
whom it would like to normalize relations in the future. Israel also needs
Egypt to mediate its informal talks with Hamas, both over the possibility of a
hudna (cease-fire) with the terror group in the Gaza Strip, but also about a
possible prisoner exchange under which Schalit would be released. With very few
friends in the neighborhood, Egypt stands out.
On the other side, Egypt views its relations with Israel as a strategic asset.
Cairo recognizes the fact that Israel and the Jewish lobby have a great deal of
influence in Washington and would not to see that influence turned against
them, as it almost did with the videotapes.
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