TEL AVIV // The removal of Egypt's Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, is likely to be welcomed by an Israeli leadership concerned over deteriorating ties and possible hostilities between the two countries, ex-diplomats and analysts said.
Even as coordination between the two nations' militaries has advanced smoothly in recent months, relations between the governments of Israel and Egypt - which have held official ties since a historic 1979 peace pact - have dwindled since Mr Morsi took power in June last year.
"For Israel, it's good riddance," said Zvi Mazel, who served as Israel's ambassador to Egypt between 1996 and 2001. "Had he stayed in power, his Muslim Brotherhood party would have probably turned against Israel, taken over the army and even started a possible war with us."
According to experts, no Israeli government official had visited Cairo during Mr Morsi's rule, and Egypt has still not returned its ambassador to Israel after recalling him in November in protest against Israel's attack on Gaza.
In Israel, Mr Morsi's presidency had spurred worries that his government might take steps to violate the peace treaty and possibly provide more backing to Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza and which Israel views as an enemy. Gaza, which borders both Israel and Egypt, has been the target of two major Israeli army assaults since 2008.
Despite such fears, Mr Morsi was instrumental in mediating a truce between Israel and Hamas in November following an Israeli incursion into Gaza that led to eight days of hostilities, winning praise from the United States and other western countries for his role.
Still, Mr Morsi's political exit may spur security risks for Israel. Some analysts warned on Friday that the uncertainty over who will now rule Egypt is raising Israeli concerns about instability and escalating violence in the Sinai Peninsula on Israel's southern border with Egypt. Israeli officials have long feared that militant groups will bolster their activities in Sinai and take advantage of chaos in Cairo to stage cross-border attacks against Israel.
Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli justice minister and prominent peace activist best known for his efforts in helping negotiate the 1993 Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, said: "There is concern in Israel because in the current situation, the Egyptian army might be too busy trying to control Cairo and not have time to control Sinai."
Israel has been untypically silent about Mr Morsi's removal.
Mr Beilin said the government was hoping that a "pragmatic leader looking to improve relations with Israel" would become the next Egyptian president and help warm diplomatic ties between the neighbours.
He said the worsened political relations between Israel and Egypt had also affected bids by left-leaning figures like him to involve Egypt in resolving Israel's long-simmering conflict with the Palestinians and mitigate tensions with Hamas.
He added: "For years, I personally used to go to Egypt at least twice a year to meet the foreign minister and others to discuss the conflict. But I lost my Egyptian contacts since Mr Morsi took power and have not initiated going there because I knew there would be no counterparty."
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How Sputnik V works
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
more from Janine di Giovanni
How Beautiful this world is!
Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort: