Four newspapers discuss various aspects of Israel-Egypt relations in the wake of last Thursday’s terrorist attacks:
Yediot Aharonot believes that „Israel has every reason to demand that the leaders of the Egyptian military regime express regret over the series of failures by the Egyptian military in not preventing the terrorist assault in which eight Israelis were murdered,” but notes that „our political-military leadership has decided to express regret over the deaths of three Egyptian policemen on the southern border in order to lower the conflagration between the two countries.”
Ma’ariv says that „Accusing Israel of negligence in defending its border and threatening to recall the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel home to Cairo for consultations following the losses the Egyptians sustained in the attack on the road to Eilat are nothing but the miserable effort by the Supreme Military Council, which has run Egypt since Mubarak’s ouster, to cover up its failure to maintain security in Sinai and cast responsibility on the other, in this case – Israel, as is customary in Egypt.” The author, a former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, believes that „Egypt faces a major challenge: Deal with the problems, when it is not at its best and the temporary military administration is finding it difficult – after the uprising – to restore law and order and guide the country toward new and stable civilian institutions,” and adds that „Neither country has any interest in escalating the events that have already hurt their security. Peace is just as much a supreme interest for Egypt as it is for Israel. Both countries must investigate the events in order to understand what happened on the ground in order to ensure that such events do not recur.”
Yisrael Hayom suggests that while „official Egypt,” is not especially interested in inflaming bilateral relations and thus did not implement the proposal to recall the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, „The Egyptian street is another story,” and adds that „Post-Mubarak Egypt is a confused Egypt with no clear leadership. While the military council is indeed sovereign, in the resultant vacuum, many are seeking to expand their influence – the street, the media and even the government.” The author says that Egyptian presidential candidates have vied with each other in attacking Israel and points out that Egyptian media coverage of last Thursday’s – and subsequent – events has been tendentious and openly one-sided. The paper concludes that, „Official Egypt in the post-Mubarak and pre-elections era must be attentive to the pulse of the street; hence the concern over the next crisis.”
Haaretz contends that despite the fact that “The fragile relations between Israel and Egypt are now being put to a difficult test,” Israel must nevertheless maintain neighborly relations with Egypt.
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The Jerusalem Post comments on the ‘social justice’ protests, and notes that “Rather than aiming to bring down the government, the outcry is for changing the system,” which to many means a return to the welfare state. The editor points out, however, that the welfare state in many economies is writhing on the brink of collapse, and states that “Assorted better-off European countries may for a time luxuriate in ideological eccentricities and spendthrift habits, but “Israel’s smaller, considerably more vulnerable economy, with a lower credit rating and negligible natural resources, cannot countenance this.”
