BY EMET REPORT—
Israel must be prepared for any outcome in Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset, “by reinforcing the might of the State of Israel.”
While an Egypt that fully embraces democracy and democratic reform would be a welcome neighbor, Netanyahu said Wednesday, it is also possible that Egypt could come under the rule of parties that are answerable to Iran.
“They want Egypt to become another Gaza, run by radical forces that oppose everything that the democratic world stands for,” the Israeli leader warned. “Our stand is clear. We support the forces that promote freedom, progress and peace. We oppose the forces that seek to enforce a dark despotism, terrorism and war.”
Netanyahu said he believed that if forces of democracy and reform prevail in Egypt, then it could buttress a wider Arab-Israeli peace and maintain the 30-year peace Israel has had with Egypt.
“We expect any government of Egypt to honor the peace. Moreover, we expect the international community to expect any government of Egypt to honor the peace,” he said. “This must be clear, along with the discussions about reform and democracy.”
Netanyahu announced that he would “take additional steps to further encourage development and prosperity among the Palestinians” in the coming days, and called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “to sit down with us and discuss peace without preconditions, negotiations that take into account changes that will affect Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
