Although Israel and Egypt enjoy a peace agreement, recent statements made by representatives of both of the country’s contenders for the presidency might leave some people wondering.
Egyptian Minister of Defense Abdel Fatah Saeed Al Sisy and United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (Photo: DOD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)
In a televised debate earlier this month on Lebanese TV, both candidates vied to demonstrate the most hostility toward Israel, Egypt’s supposed peace partner.
Mahmoud Badr, the campaign manager for front runner Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s former army chief, pledged support for anyone who fights against Israel.
Rival candidate Hamdeen Sabahi’s spokesman, Tamer Hindawi, expressed his candidate’s support for “anyone who points his gun at the Zionist enemy.”
Both sides spoke of canceling the Camp David accords on which the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement is based.
When asked by the program’s moderator if a Sabahi administration would seek a referendum to annul the Camp David agreement, Hindawi responded, “Our enmity with the Zionist enemy goes to our very existence. It’s either us or them. No peace is possible.”
Following the time honored view of many Arabs that Israel is responsible for every possible woe, Hindawi traced all of Egypt’s crises to the Camp David accords, even blaming them for “Egypt’s subjugation to America, and for the decline in its role as an Arab, Islamic, and African leader.”
El-Sisi spokesman Badr less aggressively stated the issue, saying that the matter would be taken under consideration, and if required, a national referendum would be held.
El-Sisi is expected to win in the coming May 26–27 elections. (Times of Israel)
