Israel Matzav

Israel pushed US not to cut aid to Egypt

Of course. Despite depictions of Jews like the one above in Egyptian media, Israel pushed the US not to cut aid to Egypt in the face of last week's coup.

Marathon phone calls about the coup took place between Jerusalem and Washington over the weekend. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror spoke with his White House counterpart, Susan Rice.

The senior American official said the talks were aimed at coordinating U.S. and Israeli positions on the Egyptian crisis. During those calls, and in follow-up conversations afterward, the Israelis warned that cutting military aid to Egypt would likely impact negatively on Israel’s security, especially given the possibility of further security deterioration in Sinai.

They also warned that halting the aid could undermine Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt. Though the American aid isn’t officially part of the Camp David Accords, it began as a direct result of the treaty. Moreover, the United States is a signatory to the treaty’s security annex, alongside Israel and Egypt.

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Israel therefore fears that any change in this U.S. policy could undermine the Egyptian army’s commitment to the treaty. Senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem said that this week, Israeli diplomats in Washington will try to make this case to senior senators and congressmen.

The senior American official said that Israeli officials voiced satisfaction at the coup and the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood government. Nevertheless, he added, Jerusalem and Washington agreed that the Egyptian army should transfer the reins of power to a civilian government as soon as possible and ensure that free elections are held.

Amidror even told Rice and her counterparts in other Western countries that he hopes whatever new government arises will form as broad a coalition as possible, and not freeze out the opposition as the Brotherhood did.

Yet more proof that declaring elections doesn't make you a democracy, although that's how the Obama administration seems to see it.

Note that there is not even a mention of Egypt returning an ambassador to Israel.

Labels: Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Egyptian democracy, Egyptian regime change, Egyptian Revolution, Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Muslim Brotherhood, US foreign aid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:08 PM