JERUSALEM – Israel hopes the U.S. decision to cut aid to Egypt will not affect the two countries’ historic peace deal, a Cabinet minister said Thursday, insisting that Israeli-Egyptian ties remain as close as ever.
Gilad Erdan, the minister responsible for civil defense, said Israel and Egypt are continuing to cooperate in military and political spheres and that there is “constant contact” between the two countries.
The minister spoke just hours after the United States announced it was cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Egypt in response to the Egyptian military’s ouster last summer of the nation’s first freely elected president and a subsequent crackdown on protesters.
While Erdan told Israel Army Radio that Israel has been “disturbed” by the threat of a U.S. aid cutoff, he said he hopes there would be no ramifications to the Mideast peace accord.
“I hope this decision by the United States will not have an effect and won’t be interpreted as something that should have an effect” on the treaty, he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined immediate comment.
Israel and Egypt’s landmark 1979 peace accord is a pillar of stability between the two nations and was the first peace agreement Israel signed with an Arab state.
The deal granted Egypt billions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
But the threat of slashing it has raised concerns in Israel that its alliance with Egypt could be shaken and could even prompt Egypt to retaliate against Israel. Israel views the aid as an integral part of the peace accord.
U.S. officials have said the cuts would not affect spare parts and other assistance for counterterrorism in the Sinai.
But Egypt could take its frustrations over the U.S. move out on Israel, said Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt.
In protest, the Egyptian military might limit its cooperation with the Israelis, which in turn would hamper Israel’s efforts to fight militants in the restive Sinai, he said.
“There is much anger. Therefore it may affect badly on the direct ties” between Israel and Egypt, Shaked said. “They (Egyptians) are likely to punish Israel along with the U.S.”
