JERUSALEM
(AP) -- Israel is quietly and carefully watching the turmoil in
neighboring Egypt while maintaining close contacts with the Egyptian
military amid concerns that the escalating crisis could weaken their
common battle against Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula,
officials said.
As the week's death toll in
Egypt rises, this alliance has put Israel in a delicate position. Wary
of being seen as taking sides in the Egyptian military's standoff
against Islamist supporters of the ousted president, Israel also needs
the Egyptian army to maintain quiet along their shared border - and to
preserve a historic peace treaty.
The 1979
peace treaty, Israel's first with an Arab country, has been a
cornerstone of regional security for three decades. It has allowed
Israel to divert resources to volatile fronts with Syria, Lebanon and
the Palestinian territories. For Egypt, it opened the way to billions of
dollars in U.S. military aid.
Although
diplomatic relations have never been close, the two militaries have had a
good working relationship. These ties have only strengthened since
longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising two
and a half years ago. With both armies battling extremist Jihadi groups
in the Sinai Peninsula, near the Israeli border, Israeli security
officials often say that relations with their Egyptian counterparts are
stronger than ever.
With so much at stake,
Israel has remained quiet since the Egyptian military ousted Mubarak's
Islamist successor, Mohammed Morsi, in a coup on July 3. Morsi, who
became Egypt's first democratically elected president, hails from the
Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group considered the parent organization
of militant Palestinian Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip and is a bitter
enemy of Israel.
Israel has not commented on
this week's bloodshed, in which the Egyptian troops killed hundreds of
Morsi's supporters who were rallying against the coup and demanding that
he be reinstated.
"Israel does not have to
support the (Egyptian) regime, especially not publicly. It is not our
place to defend all the measures taken, this is not our business," said
Giora Eiland, a former chairman of Israel's National Security Council.
At
the same time, Eiland suggested that international condemnations of the
Egyptian military's actions have been excessive. He said Israeli and
Western interests are "much closer" to the interests of Egypt's military
leader, Gen. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi and his secular allies.
"Even
if we don't share the same values, we can share the same interests," he
said. "The Israeli interest is quite clear. We want a stable regime in
Egypt."
"In the end of the day, the U.S. has
to realize the real potential, reliable partner is the combination of
the coalition of secular people in Egypt and the current military
regime," he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's office declined comment but Israeli defense officials
confirmed to The Associated Press that security cooperation with Egypt
has continued over the past week.
The
officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were
discussing classified information, said the topic was discussed last
week with the visiting chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of State, Gen.
Martin Dempsey. They refused to discuss the content of the discussions.
The
Israeli and Egyptian armies have worked closely in recent years to
contain the common threat posed by al-Qaida-linked groups operating in
Sinai. These groups have stepped up their activities since Mubarak was
toppled, and even more so since Morsi was deposed.
In
the latest attack, militants ambushed and killed 25 Egyptian policemen
on Monday on a road in northern Sinai, Egyptian officials said, speaking
on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the
media. The militants forced two vehicles carrying policemen on leave to
stop, ordered the men out and made them lie on the ground before they
shot them to death, the officials said.
Early
this month, Israel briefly closed its airport in the Red Sea resort town
of Eilat, next to the border with Sinai, in response to unspecified
security warnings. The following day, five men believed to be Islamic
militants were killed in what Egyptian security officials told the AP in
Cairo was an Israeli drone attack. The site of the strike was about
five kilometers (three miles) inside Egypt. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists.
Israel
has maintained official silence about the strike, likely out of
concerns about exposing Egypt's military to domestic public backlash
over a strike on Egyptian soil. Egypt's government celebrates its
battles fought against Israel over Sinai and despite the 1979 peace
deal, many in Egypt still view the Jewish state with suspicion.
A
week after the suspected drone strike, Israel intercepted an incoming
rocket fired from Sinai at Eilat. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed
responsibility for the rocket attack.
Under
the terms of the peace accord, Egypt must coordinate its military
operations in northern Sinai with Israel. The Israelis are believed to
have granted every request by Egypt to bring additional forces into the
region, as long as all operations were closely coordinated. An
international force helps monitor the terms of the treaty.
Israeli
lawmaker Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister and military chief of
staff, said it was essential that peace and order be restored in Egypt.
"The
issue of the peace treaty with Egypt is Israel's highest interest. As
long as the violence, and the confrontation between the army and the
civilians and the bloodshed there increases, it endangers the peace
treaty. We have an interest that life there is quiet," he told Channel 2
TV.
The U.S. and European Union have criticized Egypt's crackdown on Morsi's supporters.
President
Barack Obama has suspended a planned military exercise with Egypt, and
U.S. Sen. John McCain has led a chorus of voices urging a halt in the
$1.3 billion in military aid the U.S. sends to Egypt each year.
"For
us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we
stood for," the Republican senator told CNN. "We're not sticking with
our values."
Obama has not made a decision.
But suggestions like McCain's have raised concerns in Israel that tough
U.S. action could shake the alliance with Egypt - and even prompt Egypt
to retaliate against Israel.
"The Israeli and
Egyptian security establishments are operating inside a bubble and, for
the time being, there are no signs that relations between them have
cooled," wrote Alex Fishman, a military affairs commentator for the
Yediot Ahronot daily. "But the Egyptian street is beginning to press,
and the current regime is going to have to toss it a bone. Regrettably,
it is going to be an Israeli bone it tosses."
Israeli officials say the peace accord remains intact, and dismiss speculation that it could be threatened.
Eli
Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador in Egypt, told the AP the scenario
of the Camp David accords unraveling was highly unlikely. He said it was
highly doubtful the United States would cut off aid to Egypt and even
if it did, he could not envision Egypt canceling the peace treaty.
"They
have no interest in engaging in another conflict they have neither the
time nor the energy for," he said. "They need us now, with or without
American aid."
Later Monday, Israel issued a
new travel warning for Sinai, urging its citizens to "refrain from
visiting" the peninsula and to "leave the area immediately."
The Sinai desert, with its pastoral coast, is a favorite vacation spot for Israelis.
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