World Jewish News

Egypt's Foreign Minister: Given its history, Israel has strong concerns regarding its security

Speaking to a group of high school students in Cairo, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians do not constitute terrorism and that given Israel’s history, it has strong concerns regarding its security.

His comments came during a Q&A session with students at the Egyptian foreign ministry. In response to a question whether the killing of Palestinian children is a form of terrorism, Shoukry said that "it cannot be described as terrorism without an international agreement characterizing it as such."

Shoukry, who was in July the first Egyptian Foreign Minister to visit Israel since 2007 to promote Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s proposal to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, said that Israel's history made it highly value its security, and therefore it tightens control over its territory in order to secure itself.

“You can look at this question from the perspective of a regime of force, but looked at from a more traditional understanding of terrorism, there is no evidence showing a link between Israel and armed terrorist groups,” Shoukry told the students.

“Certainly Israel has, in accordance with its own history, a society in which the security element is very strong,’’ he said.

“From Israel’s perspective, since 1948, that society has faced many challenges that have instilled in it its national security doctrine, its control of land and border crossings,” Shoukry added.

Shoukry’s comments on Israel came as an Israeli delegation reportedly arrived in Cairo for meetings with their Egyptian counterparts to discuss the renewed peace efforts suggested by Egypt’s President al-Sisi.

‎The London-based Arabic newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, plus various Egyptian titles said that a high-ranking Israeli team flew from Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and stayed in Cairo for just a few hours.

In May, President al-Sisi made a surprising public plea for Israel and the Palestinians to renew peace talks in the context of brokering a wider regional peace. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately endorsed al-Sisi’s initiative.

Al-Sisi himself spoke Sunday to newspaper editors in Cairo. He said that Israel is increasingly convinced of the need to reach a peace agreement with the PA. Al-Sisi also said that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had offered to host talks between Netanyahu and Abbas.

EJP