Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel will not tolerate any violations of the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, citing unverified internet rumors about Egyptian military preparations.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that they will not allow Egypt to violate the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
In a speech yesterday during a ceremony marking the 33rd anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Katz said, “Egypt is the largest and strongest Arab country, and it remains so.”
The Israeli minister, as reported by the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, emphasized that the peace treaty “took Egypt out of the war cycle, in a leadership decision that changed the course of history and Israel’s position, and it remains so to this day.”
However, he added, “But we will not allow them to violate the peace treaty, nor will we allow structural violations. We are dealing with the matter, but the agreement stands.”
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth noted that Katz’s remarks came amid rumors circulated by far-right elements on the internet about Egyptian military preparations to unexpectedly attack Israel despite the peace treaty.
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Recently, Egypt and its military have been the target of attacks by Israeli politicians and officials.
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the opposition far-right party Yisrael Beiteinu, said last Sunday that displacing most Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt’s Sinai is a practical and effective solution.
Last week, opposition leader Yair Lapid suggested in a speech at a Washington-based research institution that Egypt should administer the neighboring Gaza Strip for 15 years in exchange for canceling its foreign debts.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also expressed concern last week about what he called the “security threat from Egypt,” stating that it does not currently pose a threat to Israel but could change at any moment, according to Israel’s Channel 14.
This is not the first time recently that an Israeli official has expressed concerns about Egypt’s military situation. Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Danny Danon, previously warned about the Egyptian military’s armament.
In February, Egypt’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, responded to the Israeli vilification campaign by stating, “Since Danon has given himself the right to question, the answer is clear, simple, and direct: Strong and great nations like Egypt require strong armies capable of defending their comprehensive national security with adequate and diverse armament.”
He added that it was Egypt that first laid the foundations of peace in the Middle East and that his country remains committed to peace as a strategic choice. He elaborated by stating that Egypt is capable of defending its national security with a strong army and a history spanning thousands of years, stressing that Egypt’s military doctrine is defensive and it is capable of deterrence.
On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington following the Camp David Accords, which were signed by the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978. Key provisions of the treaty included ending the state of war, normalizing relations, and Israel’s withdrawal of its armed forces and settlers from the Sinai Peninsula, keeping the area demilitarized.
(AA, PC)
