Israel declined comment on Mubarak’s ouster, and officials were concerned over the fate of the “peace” treaty signed between Egypt and the Zionist entity.
Israel was watching Egyptian ex-President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster anxiously on Friday, with the government declined comment on the event, and officials were concerned over the fate of the “peace” treaty signed between Egypt and the Zionist entity.
Israeli officials expressed concern that regime change in Egypt, as part of a wider transformation of the Arab world, could leave Israel even more isolated. Last year, regional powerhouse Turkey shifted away from its alliance with Israel.
"We have a tough period ahead of us," Zvi Mazel, a former ambassador in Egypt, told Israel TV. "Iran and Turkey will consolidate positions against us. Forget about the former Egypt. Now it's a completely new reality, and it won't be easy."
Some in Israel feared the unrest could spread to neighboring Jordan, the only other Arab country that has a peace deal with Israel, or to the Palestinian territories.
Former defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer who was a long-time “friend” of Mubarak, said he was worried.
"From this day on, I only have lots of questions about what will be, what will be the fate of the peace treaty between us and the Egyptians?" Ben-Eliezer told Israel TV's Channel 10. "There are many questions that we don't have answers for, how will this affect the entire region now?"
Dan Gillerman, a former envoy at the UN, said that if “radicals” prevail in Egypt and elsewhere, it would be devastating for Israel and the region.
"At the end of the day what we are seeing in the Middle East is a battle between the moderates and the extremists and I think it is in everybody's interests that the moderates prevail," he told Fox News.
Military sources said on condition of anonymity they were worried that if a peace treaty isn't kept, the military would have to reassess its deployment.
These sources also feared that Muslim Brotherhood could affect the power struggle between the two Palestinian political camps — Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas is backed by the West, while Hamas is the Gaza branch of the Muslim brotherhood and could gain strength if their Egyptian brethren win a greater say.
MULLEN TO VISIT JORDAN, ISRAEL
On the other hand, the top United States military officer heads to Jordan and Israel next week for high-level talks meant to reassure key allies.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, will arrive in Jordan on Sunday for talks with his military counterpart and with Jordan's King Abdullah.
Mullen will continue to Israel, and he is due to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and the outgoing head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi on Sunday and Monday, before returning to Washington.
"At this very critical time in the Middle East [Mullen wants] to reassure our Israeli partners that our commitment to them, and to the military relationship that we have enjoyed with them, remains strong," Capt. John Kirby, an aide to Mullen, told Reuters.
