Officials believe Israel-Egypt peace accord will continue despite Muslim Brotherhood concerns

CAIRO - Officials representing Israel and Egypt are of the opinion that the peace accord between their countries would not be affected by Cairo’s political unrest that is continuing even after the exit of President Hosni Mubarak, despite concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood could exert influence in the process.

Fox News quoted Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukry as saying that he expects the Egyptian military stand by its promise and honour existing treaties, as the three-decade-old accord is beneficial for both the countries.

“We have derived a peace dividend from the treaty. We’ve been able to establish security and stability in the region. And I believe it is a main element in terms of our foreign policy,” Shoukry said.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak backed his comments saying, “I, first of all, want to state that I don’t think that the relationship between Israel and Egypt … is under any risk or that any kind of operational risk is waiting us just behind the corner.”

Barak also said that the political turmoil that emerged in Egypt after Mubarak’s resignation cannot be compared to the 1979 Iranian Revolution that paved the way for a theocracy in that country, the report said.

He, however, insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood should be stopped from gaining control over decision making powers of the country.

“The real winners of any short-term election, let’s say, within 90 days, will be the Muslim Brotherhood, because they are already ready to jump,” Barak said. “That should be avoided in Egypt, because that could be a catastrophe for the whole region,” Barak added. (ANI)