Israel in Support of Mubarak
Allows Egypt Military In Sinai..
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is for the first time in over 30 years, allowing Egyptian military to enter its borders. But that's not all.
Netanyahu, has told his ministers to make no public comment on events in Egypt.
But his ambassadors in other countries, (especially US and UK), were instructed to plead with the governments of major powers to show support for Mubarak.
Mr Netanyahu on Monday said he was following events in Egypt with “vigilance and worry” and that he feared the country could be led by a radical Islamic regime like that in Iran.
Despite Israel's support, protests have broken out against Mubarak across the world in many European countries as well.
The United States and its allies were initially supportive of Mubarak, but have signalled a shift in allegiance to his critics as the protests have gathered pace all around the world.
Israel, however, has no problem backing Egypt's president of 30 years, fearing his overthrow could cause the rise of an Islamic based rulership and the end of one of the Jewish state's most important strategic allies.
The decision to allow two Egyptian battalions to deploy against protesters in Sinai, which has been demilitarised since Israel’s withdrawal from the territory after the Camp David accords of 1978, is a reflection of Mr Netanyahu’s mounting concern.
The concession came as it emerged that Israel is privately pushing Western governments (and media) to end their criticism of Mr Mubarak as he struggles against the uprising of the people he has oppressed for over 30 years.
Israel feels very cut off and isolated due to a sharp deterioration in relations with its ally Turkey and the emergence of the new prime minister in Lebanon, who is supported by an Islamic group.
Egypt's President Mubarak shares a mutual antipathy towards Iran and Hamas, in Gaza, and he has been a vital defender of Israel’s security interests, ready to lend full military support even, against his own citizens if necessary, according to sources in Suez.
Israel fears when Mubarak goes, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic opposition group in Egypt, might become a major force in the government that replaces him.
Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Cairo, wrote in Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper - "The only people in Egypt who are committed to peace are the people in Mubarak's inner circle, and if the next president is not one of them, we are going to be in trouble"
The emergence of a hostile Egyptian government would force Israel into a major adjustment of its military strategy.
Since 1973 when Egypt went to war against Israel, Egypt (under Mubarak) has been regularly receiving billions of dollars for military aid from the United States, mostly intended to keep the Muslims in line under Mubarak's regime. Now the prospects of holding down a rebellion from the Egyptians will definitely be altered.
Analysts said the protests in Egypt could prompt Mr Netanyahu to toughen his stance on peace talks by allowing him to argue that any deal could unravel if a moderate Palestinian leadership is overthrown and replaced by true Muslims (called "Islamics" or "Mozlems" in other media).
The loss of Egypt as an ally, and the risk that Jordan – Israel's only other Arab partner – could then follow suit, is a prospect that is already unnerving many Israelis.
"These are dangerous times," said Tal Edelstein, a marketing consultant in Jerusalem. "We already talk of ourselves as a villa in a jungle, but now it seems that hostile forces are closing in."
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