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Egypt Israel peace treaty

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by Elkstone (U3836042) on Saturday, 12th February 2011

  Was it mediated and bankrolled by the US, as part of it's 'shuttle diplomacy' during the 70s? Or a desire for peace between the two? This would appear doubtful due to the numerous wars between them. The US funds the bulk of both nations' defence budget,(spent on US arms) as well as economic aid, so he who pays the piper..... Following the fall of Mubarak, neither side would want to break the treaty and lose that important aid?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Sunday, 13th February 2011

  My impression is that the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt came out of the Yom Kippur War. During that war, the Egyptians gave Israel a much better fight than they did during the Six-Day War, and though Israel eventually invaded Egypt in the latter stages, Egypt eventually got Sinai back in the subsequent peace treaty. I think the signing of a peace treaty was a part of that trade-off, and probably was engineered by the US. Down the years, Mubarak was happy to maintain the peace treaty in order to get aid from the US, some of which he conveniently used to fund his police state that kept him in power.
  
  Why does the US have such a track record of supporting dictators and oppressing democracy?
  
  Now that Egypt seems to be - possibly - moving towards democracy, I do believe that a democratic government will take a more critical look at the peace treaty. Israel would be well-advised to ensure that they arrive at a two-party solution with Palestine, or that peace treaty could indeed be threatened....

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• Message 3

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  Posted by fascinating (U1944795) on Sunday, 13th February 2011

  The US backs up Israel to the hilt, and for that reason Israel is now content with the situation as it is now, and sees no need to make any compromise or concession at all. Thus it continues to build settlements and defies the requests from the US president to pause the building. Obama proved himself to be very weak because he took no action at all to penalise Israel for defying him.
  
  This backing of Israel extends to spending billions to buy off Israel's most significant opponent, Egypt. That is the context in which the peace treaty was signed.
  
  The situation could become seriously destabilised if the new government of Egypt stops the sealing of the border with Gaza, and allows that enclave to have all the supplies it wants. It would undoubtedly then be able to build up arms supplies, and would use them.

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• Message 4

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  Posted by Allan D (U1791739) on Sunday, 13th February 2011

  By 1977 the four wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 & 1973) that Egypt had fought on behaldf of the Palestinians had driven the country close to bankruptcy as well as leaving Egypt militarily weakened with no improvement in the Palestinian situation. When Sadat made his dramatic flight to Jerusalem it was against a backdrop of near-economic collapse and an increasing unwillingness by the Egyptians (who constitute half the Arab nation) to sacrifice their sons to achieve Palestinian national aspirations.
  
  When the deal was brokered at Camp David in 1979 it was notable that Sadat was keen to recover the largely-uninhabited Sinai Peninsula (lost during the Six-Day War of 1967) with its oil wells and control of the right bank of the Suez Canal but was willing to allow the Gaza Strip, previously sovereign Egyptian territory to remain under Israeli occupation. Sadat was clearly motivated by Egyptian national interest rather than the pan-Arabism of his predecessor or any solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
  
  As for the future, although it is somewhat outside the scope of this board, I think the era of Arab-Israeli wars is over just as much as the era of wars between nation-states in Europe is. The focus of the protests has been on internal reforms - reviving the economy, the more equal distribution of wealth, the ending of corruption and nepotism in the bureaucracy not the overthrow of Israel or the restoration of the rights of the Palestinations for whom most Egyptians feel no special kinship.
  
  The military know all too well the price that would be paid, both in terms of human life and in financial and technical support from the US, by a renewal of conflict and would be eager to avoid such conflict at all costs as their most recent statement shows. They would also not countenance, in my view, any government coming to power in Egypt that might be likely to renew that conflict.
  
  As far as the arms embargo to Gaza is concerned, the general view appear to be that, in the absence of Mubarak, it will be relaxed on the Egyptian side leading to Hamas becoming more powerful and renewing their conflict with israel. I'm not so sure about this. The Egyptian military have nothing to gain and much to lose by a renewal of conflict and a re-equipped Hamas presents even more of a threat to Egypt than it does to Israel given that it has a soulmate in the form of the Muslim Brotherhood already inside Egypt. So it would not surprise me to see the current embargo mainted, if not strengthened, by Egypt's current military rulers.

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by suvorovetz (U12273591) on Monday, 14th February 2011

  By 1977 the four wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 & 1973) that Egypt had fought on behaldf of the Palestinians had driven the country close to bankruptcy as well as leaving Egypt militarily weakened with no improvement in the Palestinian situation... Sadat was clearly motivated by Egyptian national interest rather than the pan-Arabism of his predecessor or any solidarity with the Palestinian cause.Β 
  
  Nonie Darwish has some interesting things to say about this (see her interview at the 1:30 min. mark of Part 1):
  
  
  
  (and at the 7:30 min. mark of Part 2):
  
  

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• Message 6

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  Posted by shivfan (U2435266) on Wednesday, 16th February 2011

  A lot depends on what kind of government eventually succeeds Mubarak, and it's still early days, and there's lots of uncertainty ahead....
  
  If the govt is dominated by the military, I see the peace treaty being maintained, and the Gaza blockade continuing, but if the govt is more democratically elected, I expect the blockade to be dropped, and while I don't expect war to break out between Israel and Egypt, I suspect the relations will become 'frosty', and the peace treaty may jsut be scrapped. That doesn't mean that Egypt would go to war with Israel, but rather that Egypt will most likely give Israel no more preferential treatment than other neighbours with whom they share a border, such as Libya or Sudan.
  
  As for Obama, it does seem that behind close doors, the president advocated supporting the demonstrators, while Hilary Clinton was all for supporting Mubarak. Hence the conflicting messages coming out of the White House. That does seem to indicate that there are divisions among the Democrats between the old way of doing things, and the new broom that seeks a new way of seeing things....

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by suvorovetz (U12273591) on Wednesday, 16th February 2011

  That doesn't mean that Egypt would go to war with Israel, but rather that Egypt will most likely give Israel no more preferential treatment than other neighbours with whom they share a border, such as Libya or Sudan.Β 
  
  Egypt gives Israel preferential treatment compared to Libya and Sudan? What does it mean exactly?
  
  

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