Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that the 1979 peace treaty between Tel Aviv and Cairo is an important element in maintaining stability in the Middle East. Lieberman expressed optimism about the “new Egyptian leadership's respect for the peace accord.”
Israeli Radio reported Lieberman as saying, “The peace accord cannot be amended except with the consent of both parties.”
“We should be optimistic about this matter, as the new leadership in Egypt talks of respecting the peace treaty,” he added.
Relations have grown tense between Cairo and Tel Aviv following the January 2011 revolution which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.
Many in Egypt began calling for repealing the peace treaty signed by both countries in 1979 after Israel killed six Egyptian security soldiers in a border raid last August. The incident prompted angry Egyptian protesters to storm the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in September.
Israel has frequently voiced fears of possible changes in Egypt’s foreign policy after Islamist parties won a majority of seats in both chambers of the Egyptian Parliament.
The military council, Egypt’s de facto leader since the ouster of Mubarak, confirmed its respect for all of Egypt’s international treaties, including the peace treaty with Israel. Some presidential candidates, including Hazem Abu Ismail and Hamdeen Sabbahi, have expressed reservations about the accords.
