Israel-Egypt peace agreement is dead

TEL AVIV — Egypt and Israel have ended any pretense atnormalization, a report said.The Institute of National Security Studies asserted that the Egyptiancancellation of a natural gas contract marked the last element innormalization with Israel.Egypt has ended a 20-year-old gas supply deal with Israel. 

The Israeli institute said the Egyptian cancellation of was the result of Islamic pressure on the military regime.“Stopping the flow of Egyptian gas puts the last nail in the coffin ofone of the only manifestations of normalization between Israel and Egypt, and is yet additional evidence of a deterioration in bilateral relations because of the regime’s capitulation to the pressureof the masses,” the report, titled “Egypt’s Revocation of the Natural Gas Agreement with Israel: Strategic Implications,” said.

“It seems that even though 35 years have passed since the peace agreement was signed, it is still viewed in Egypt as a strategic necessity rather than the basis for peaceful relations.”Authored by strategist Shmuel Even, the report said the April 22decision by Egypt’s state-owned gas companies to annul its long-termcontract with Israel was certainly approved by the ruling military council.The report said the military preferred to cancel the agreement with Israelrather than expose Cairo to massive lawsuits in wake of repeated bombings ofthe Arab Gas Pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula.“The revocation of the agreement is a decision that was clearly made, orat least approved, at Egypt’s highest political levels,” the report said.“It may be that in light of the cumulative damage Egypt preferred to revokeits contractual obligations rather than not meet them given the number ofgrowing lawsuits.”

The report said Israel should consent to any Egyptian proposal to renewthe agreement to maintain energy relations with Cairo. At the same time,Even said, Israel, which has discovered large gas reserves, should not seekintervention of the United States.“Some in Israel see a need for an immediate American response to Egyptthat would generate a renewal of the gas flow, but it seems that this is notin Israel’s best interests,” the report said. “Pressure will not enhance therelations between Egypt and Israel and may even increase tensions.”

World Tribune