In a tv interview, Egypt’s former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to be elected as the country’s president at presidential election May 25-26, said that he would respect Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel.
“I respect all international accords, including the treaty with Israel.” The two countries signed a peace agreement in 1979 and their common border has remained largely quiet ever since,’’ he said, indicating that the cordial Egypt-Israel relations could become closer under his rule, if Israel were to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
“Let us see a Palestinian nation with Jerusalem as the capital. That would make us all happy. There is an opportunity to give the Palestinians hope, and that hope will open a lot of doors in the region.”
Since Egypt’s military seized power, cooperation between Egyptian and Israeli security forces has increased. Egypt’s army has fought armed Islamist groups in the Sinai Peninsula which borders Israel. Al-sisi said during the interview that such groups could be eliminated in “an hour’s time” were it not for concern over potential harm to “women, children and the elderly.”
Sisi also said that the Muslim Brotherhood – the group he removed from power last year – will not exist if he is elected president. In recent months, Egyptian authorities have outlawed the group and placed its leaders, including former President Mohammed Morsi, on trial.