Israel Matzav

Wikileaks: Israel has long preferred Suleiman to Gamal

A Wikileaks cable discloses that Israel has long preferred Omar Suleiman as Hosni Mubarak's successor.

A senior adviser from Israel's Ministry of Defense told U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv in August 2008 that Suleiman was viewed as the most likely interim president if Mubarak died or was incapacitated.

U.S. diplomat Luis Moreno wrote that "there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman, according to the cable released Monday night by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph on its website.

In 2008, Mubarak's son Gamal was seen as his father's likely successor. Suleiman, who was head of the foreign intelligence service, at the time was Israel's main contact in the Egyptian government. The cable notes that a hot-line set up between Israel's Defense Ministry and the Suleiman-led Egyptian General Intelligence Service was in "daily use."

The leaked cable reveals that Suleiman, angry at Israeli criticism of Egypt's ineffectiveness in stopping arms smuggling to Gaza, suggested that Israel send troops to Egypt's Philadelphi Corridor and stop the smuggling by itself.

The cables also quote Suleiman as saying that Hamas should be isolated and that Gaza could "go hungry but not starve."

I wonder if the average Egyptian would agree with those statements by Suleiman. If so, we are in good shape. Take that, Erdogan.

Labels: Gamal Mubarak, Hosni Mubarak, Israel, Omar Suleiman, Wikileaks

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:11 PM