Israel Keeps a Wary Eye on Turmoil in Egypt

Israel Keeps a Wary Eye on Turmoil in Egypt

JERUSALEM — Before the violence this week in Cairo, the Israeli government was quietly pleased with the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which has always been hostile to Israel. But now the mass killings have left Israel in the uncomfortable position of being a spectator to the crisis unfolding in Egypt, though one with a huge stake in the outcome.

Looks like getting what you wanted can be a bad thing sometimes. Yes it was apparent that Morsi was not going to be as buddy buddy to Israel like Mubarak but there was no way he was going to start a war with them.

“I think that the whole world should support Sisi,” Ehud Barak, a former prime minister and defense minister of Israel, said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” last weekend. He was referring to Egypt’s military commander, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, who ousted Mr. Morsi, an Islamist, last month.

Sure sounds like a coup to me. Now let's see why would Israel want this General in charge? Because he is more than likely make big bucks off being at peace with Israel.

Israel views the Egyptian military as the only force that can stabilize the deeply fractured country, and the Israel-Egypt peace treaty is predicated on the $1.5 billion a year in American military and economic aid to Egypt, the bulk of which goes to the Egyptian armed forces.

Isn't it nice of America to pay protection money for Israel? How in the world could America get suckered into a deal like this? We let our vets go homeless but we can pay billions to keep Israel safe. I yearn for the day when the government put America above everyone else. All of them need to be thrown out.

With respect, I'd suggest that Israel likes the guy in now because he's the least likely to go to war with them...like Mubarak. Honestly, a General is the last man to usually want war. At least a General with more than paperwork knowledge of the subject of the job.

Israel and Egypt going to war is one I really don't know who would win with. Assuming no outside force intervened for either side? That's a scary thing because it's really a toss up, IMO. As it's meant to be by those near equal payments to each nation for over 30 years. Either way, both nations would come out broken and probably for a generation or more. Only madmen want that war, IMO.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

There was no indication that Morsi was a threat to Israel. And like Mubarak he was dipping into the aid money also. Besides he and the Brotherhood had their hands full with Egypt.

reply to post by buster2010


The Brotherhood is a direct threat to Israel by proxy of Hamas in Gaza. So much so, incredibly, the Palestinian Authority actually acknowledged the connection openly while encouraging the people in Gaza to push Hamas out with the Egyptian Brotherhood. Some of the statements out of Ramallah were downright impossible to miss.

Fatah calls on Palestinians to overthrow Hamas in wake of Morsi's fall

Abbas praised the Egyptian army and its commanders for preserving the country’s security and preventing it from slipping toward the abyss.

Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a top aide to Abbas, saluted the Egyptian army for the “wonderful achievement.”

This is a weird situation all the way around for who seems to be supporting who and Egypt is making for VERY odd bed fellows in who comes in each category to share the side. Really, this is surreal. Still?

Several other Fatah officials expressed hope that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip would wage a revolution against Hamas.

“Now it’s Gaza’s turn to get rid of the Muslim Brotherhood branch,” said one official. “The dark era of political Islam has ended. The era of hypocrisy and lies has ended and Gaza will soon witness its own revolution against Hamas.”

Abdel Rahim Jamous, a Fatahaffiliated political analyst, urged Hamas to seize the opportunity and “return to Palestinian national legitimacy before it’s too late.”

Source

It's an Israeli paper quoting here, but it's Palestinian Authority saying it right after Morsi was taken into Custody. While sides are all messed up on support on the outside? The issue seems clear in the M.B. very much being the bad guys here. Just about everyone but Obama and a few other outsiders see that. Even the Egyptians seem to see it pretty clear.

The first night the unrest really started and Muslim Brotherhood got killed, the morning headlines yelled about how I think a dozen of their fighters were killed around a Mosque. What the headlines left out but I'd been watching in tweet updates throughout the wee hours (US time) was updates on the people those M.B. had actively trapped inside the Mosque while Egyptian military was attempting to find a way of getting them out. It's amazing how much is lost when reports aren't live with unknown outcomes and become editorials on past events...even by a matter of hours these days.

* S&F for the thread by the way... The overall topic of Israel in all this is definitely important as anything in the region does touch them...both good and bad. Their reactions are likewise, both good and bad at times, IMO.

People are giving flags by popularity more than effort to thought into threads anymore so I figured I'd mention dropping one for ya here.