Are Egypt's Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify the Peace Treaty with Israel?

8/3/2019 Are Egypt's Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify the Peace Treaty with Israel?

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The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Are Egypt's Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify

the Peace Treaty with Israel?

Jonathan D. Halevi

The prevailing optimism in media reportsconcerning the Egyptian Muslim

Brotherhood and the Salafist party'sreadiness to adhere to the peace treaty withIsrael is based on general statements madeby senior officials in both parties. Thesestatements maintain that Egypt must honorthe international treaties that it signed.

Yet a more rigorous examination of the twoparties' stances identifies a markedlydifferent tendency. Both seek a way to cast
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off the Camp David agreement in a mannerthat will incur minimal diplomatic and

economic damage to Egypt, and restoreEgypt to its leading role in the circle ofstates confronting Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood has set a numberof criteria for examining international

agreements, including the Camp Davidagreement: the considerations of Islamiccanon law (Sharia), the position of theEgyptian people, and the degree of Israel'scompliance with the agreement from Egypt'sperspective.

The strategic objective of the EgyptianIslamic movements is to transform Egyptinto a prime regional force that will lead thediplomatic and military battle against Israel.This means re-examining the Camp David

agreement and submitting it to the decisionof the new parliament that will be controlledby the Islamic parties or to a referendum -thereby alleviating the responsibility of any


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future Egyptian government for cancellingthe peace treaty.

These developments can be averted if theU.S. and its allies take a firm positionagainst any initiative to undermine theTreaty of Peace between Israel and Egypt,and all echelons of the Egyptian

establishment are made to understand theimplications of any such action.

The revolution in Egypt, followed by elections

to the parliament, has elevated the Islamicparties to a position of power as they enjoy anabsolute parliamentary majority after the twoinitial stages of the parliamentary elections. TheMuslim Brotherhood movement's Freedom and

Justice party won 49 percent of the total seatsthat it contested (73 out of 150) in the first stageof the elections and the Salafist al-Nur partywon about 20 percent of the seats (30 seats). In


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the second stage of the elections the MuslimBrotherhood won about 40 percent of the votes

and al-Nur about 35 percent. The final stage ofthe elections will take place in January 2012.However, we can already form the distinctimpression that the Egyptian parliament will becontrolled by the absolute majority retained bythese two extreme Islamic parties.

In recent journalistic reports we repeatedly hearthe claim that the Freedom and Justice party andthe al-Nur party will continue to honor the

Camp David peace agreement with Israel afterthe new regime has been consolidated undertheir leadership. These reports are essentiallybased on general statements made by seniorofficials in both parties to the effect that Egyptmust honor the international agreements that it

signed. However, a rigorous examination of thetwo parties' stances indicates a totally differenttendency: namely, the two parties seek to castoff the Camp David accords in a manner that


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will cause Egypt the minimal possiblediplomatic and economic damage.

The issue of Egyptian adherence to the CampDavid agreement was brought up duringdiscussions that Senator John Kerry conductedtogether with the American Ambassador toCairo, Anne Patterson, with leaders of theFreedom and Justice party on December 10,2011. Dr. Mohammed Morsi, the partychairman, referred to the issue in general terms.A report on the meeting by the official website

of the Muslim Brotherhood stated:

Morsi noted that Egypt is a large country with adeep-rooted history that fulfills an important

role in the Arab, Islamic and internationalarenas and therefore it honors the agreementsand contracts which it has signed. He demandedthat the American administration listen directly


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to the people rather than listen to what is saidabout them, while emphasizing that the United

States could play a role in facilitating economicstability and prosperity for all peoples should itchoose to do so.1

New Egyptian Conditions

The Muslim Brotherhood set a number ofcriteria for examining international agreements,

including the Camp David agreement. First,there is Islamic canon law (Sharia); second, onemust take into account the Egyptian people'sposition which Morsi mentioned in his talk withSenator Kerry; and third, one must weigh the

degree of compliance by the other party to anyagreement that was signed with Egypt.


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The platform of the Freedom and Justice partydetermines that it will honor international

human rights agreements, provided that they donot contradict the Islamic Sharia. Regarding thepeace agreement with Israel, the platform statesthat agreements between countries must beacceptable to the people and conform to theprinciples of justice and the interests of the

parties. Respect for these agreements isconditional upon an obligation by the parties tofulfill them in full, as is the norm ininternational relations. "Therefore, the partyconsiders it obligatory to reappraise many of theagreements that were signed in various fields bythe old regime."2

Calls to Re-examine the Treaty with Israel


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Senior leaders of the Freedom and Justice partyhave on numerous occasions in recent months

favored amending or abrogating the CampDavid accords and severing diplomatic andeconomic relations with Israel. On August 25,2011, party chairman Dr. Mohammed Morsidemanded a re-examination of the Camp Davidagreement, and contended that Israel's "attack"

on an Egyptian army border position (that wasin response to terrorist fire at the IDF from thisposition) exemplified Israel's systematicviolation of the agreement.3

Dr. Ahmed Abu Baraka, the Freedom andJustice party's legal advisor and a senior leaderof the party, said on August 28 that it wasnecessary to re-examine all the clauses of theCamp David agreement to see whether its

abrogation was mandated. He emphasized theimportance of deploying Egyptian army forcesin the Sinai, equipped with heavy and advancedweaponry, in order to deter Israel.4


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Dr. Mohammed Gamal Hismat, a senior leaderof the Freedom and Justice party and a formerparliament member, proposed on August 24 toestablish a legal committee that would examinethe Camp David agreement in light of Israel's"continued violation" of the agreement.5

Dr. Essam El-Arian, the deputy leader of theFreedom and Justice party, on August 23minimized the importance of American threats

to terminate assistance to Egypt if it were todisown the Camp David agreement, andcontended that Israel was violating theagreement "in a blatant fashion."6

Dr. Hamdy Ismail, the party secretary in theIsmailiya district, explained on October 31 thatthe issue of the Camp David agreement directly


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affected the Egyptian citizenry, and thereforeraised a proposal within the party to submit the

decision on the issue to a referendum.

7

Dr. Ahmed Rami, a senior Freedom and Justiceparty leader in the Qalyubiya district, called onAugust 27 for a re-examination of the CampDavid agreement, noting that the revolution inEgypt marked the outset of a journey toliberate Jerusalemin view of the fact that the"Zionist entity is near collapse."8

These positions received additional validationfrom the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Dr.Mohammed Badie, who in his weekly letters tomovement activists elaborates his doctrine and

positions with regard to the United States andIsrael following the revolutions in Egypt and theArab world. Badie terms the Camp Davidaccord "a surrender" agreement and he presents
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a list of demands on this issue. In his letter ofMay 5, 2011, Badie wrote:

We vociferously call for the termination ofnormalization, that provided our enemy [Israel]with stability, putting an end to securing theZionist borders and the killing of infiltrators intothe enemy's [territory], the abrogation of theissues of economic interests such as the QIZ,9 a[halt] to gas exports that wrought damage to ournational security, urgent action to complete theopening of the Rafah crossing on a permanent

basis and a re-examination of the Camp Davidagreement so it can be presented to the NationalAssembly elected in free elections, thusallowing it to have its say after it was deniedthis for years.10

Badie defines Israel and the United States asEgypt's principal adversaries. In his weekly


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letter of October 6, 2011, he reaches the clearconclusion that "our main enemy is the Zionist-

American plan, which aspires to take over theentire region in order to establish Greater Israeland the New Middle East."11

Badie does not mention any option forcooperation with Israel or the United States, but,on the contrary, in his evaluation these twocountries, that represent the most dangerousthreat to Egypt, are currently in a state ofhistoric decline:

The global forces, the Zionists and Americans,are absorbing a succession of debacles anddefeats, commencing with Israel's isolation and

loss of its regional supporters, and the Americanfailures in the military realm (inIraqandAfghanistan), and in the economic arena thatthreaten the collapse of the capitalist regime as a
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result of failed policy and the huge expenses andwars prosecuted under the pretext of liquidating

what they call terror. They've forfeited theircredibility among peoples and now they've losttheir financial sources, and we do not rule outthe possibility that their fate will approximatethe Soviet Union's fate....At the same time theblessed revolutions of the Arab Spring presage a

total change in the Arab national map.12

The irrelevance of the Camp David agreementfinds expression in the Muslim Brotherhood

movement's overt aspiration to bring about the"liberation" of the entire territory of "Palestine,"a concept that dovetails with its Islamicideological platform, and which findsexpression in the current optimistic assessmentby the Muslim Brotherhood leader on the

prospects for realizing this vision in practice. Inhis weekly letter of June 9, 2011, Badie writes:


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Victory is near with the help of Allah, it isdefinite and there can be no doubt about it. Therestoration of Palestine, al Quds [Jerusalem],the Golan, and all the lands that Israelconquered is no longer feverish imagination, buta hope that will soon be realized after the [Arab]

nations have revolted....The era of "Israeli"superiority has ended and "Israel" has begun todoubt its continuity and survival.13

The official position of the Salafist al-Nur partyresembles that of the Muslim Brotherhood. Dr.Emad Abdel Ghafour, the party leader, says:

It is obligatory to honor the agreements to whichEgypt is affiliated, and we demand that they bemet. There are many passages in the peaceagreement that were not implemented [by
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Israel], such as a solution to the Palestinianproblem, the right of self-determination [for the

Palestinian people], and the autonomy of aPalestinian state on Palestinian soil. There aremany issues that must be implemented so thatthe Palestinian people will sense that it hasbenefited from the peace process....The peaceagreement of Camp David requires a re-

examination.14

Dr. Yousry Hamad, the spokesperson for the al-Nur party, explained that the party's position on

the Camp David agreement would be adoptedon the basis of Sharia,15 and vigorously deniedjournalistic reports that the party was ostensiblyprepared to maintain contacts with the Israeliambassador in Cairo.16

Unfounded Optimism


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The optimism regarding a radical change in thepositions of these extreme Egyptian Islamicmovements regarding Israel grasps at the strawsof general statements that do not attest to anideological reversal, but convey the tactics forobtaining the strategic objective: casting off the

Camp David agreement and transforming Egyptinto a prime regional force that will lead thediplomatic and military battle against Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the al-Nurparty, is seeking a convenient exit point fromthe Camp David agreement, due to an awarenessof the implications of violating a bindingdiplomatic treaty under international law and theimmediate damage that the Egyptian economy is

likely to absorb as a direct result of an initiatedabrogation of the Camp David accords.


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Egypt receives $1.3 billion annually in U.S.military assistance, while in 2010 Americaneconomic assistance totaled $250 million. TheEgyptian army's main strength is predicated onAmerican weapons systems including F-16 andF 14 aircraft, Apache helicopters, M1A1 and

M60A3 tanks, surface-to-air missiles, spyplanes, and more. In the framework of bilateralmilitary cooperation, the armies of the twocountries customarily conduct joint training andmaneuvers.

How to Nullify the Peace Treaty

Yet the die has been cast and the strategicchoice has already been made. The onlyquestion on the agenda is how to implement this


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decision at a minimal diplomatic and economiccost. We can infer from comments by senior

Muslim Brotherhood members that they areinterested in playing the "democratic game" tothe hilt on this issue as well. This means re-examining the Camp David agreement andsubmitting it to the decision of the newparliament that will be controlled by the Islamic

parties or to a referendum - thereby alleviatingthe responsibility of any future Egyptiangovernment for cancelling the peace treaty. Theimmediate pretext will be Israel'snoncompliance with clauses in the agreement, inorder to attribute to Israel the blame for thetreaty's abrogation.

It would appear that the Muslim Brotherhood'sappraisal is that following their seizure of power

and additional achievements of the Arab Spring,the U.S. will be compelled to accept the newreality, just as it has made peace with thesituation up to now. American leaders have even


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reiterated their praise for the democraticprocess, although this process has elevated the

radical Islamic forces to new positions of power.These forces aspire to drain democracy ofcontent and gradually (the Muslim Brotherhoodstrategy) or immediately (the al-Nur partyapproach) implement Islamic religious law.

From Israel's standpoint, the revolution in Egyptand its translation at the ballot box into theIslamic Revolution carries the serious potentialfor transforming Egypt in the foreseeable future

into an enemy and restoring it to the circle ofconfrontation states. Israel is doing its utmost topreserve the Camp David agreement even forappearances sake. However, developments inEgypt will inevitably lead to the creation of aserious security challenge on Israel's southern

border. The new Egypt will try to exercise itsfull sovereignty in Sinai and deploy regularforces there, employing various pretexts,beginning with Israeli "violations" of the Camp


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David agreement, proceeding with the need todefend itself against an Israeli attack, and

concluding with Egypt's obligation to protect itsPalestinian brothers in Gaza.

Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhoodmovement in Egypt, the parent movementofHamas, provides ongoing assistance toHamas and furnishes it with strategic backingthat is growing more potent due to theBrotherhood's increased strength in the recentelections. A high proportion of Izzedine al

Qassam Brigade activists who were killed inrecent years in Gaza were simultaneouslyMuslim Brotherhood activists and Hamasmembers. The plausible assumption is that oneof the Muslim Brotherhood's first objectivesafter it assumes the reins of power will be to

guarantee an open border crossing betweenGaza and Egypt, and to provide comprehensiveeconomic and military assistance to Hamas thatwill pose new security risks for Israel.
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Furthermore, the strategic alliance between theMuslim Brotherhood and Hamas may constrainIsrael's freedom of military action in Gaza (aswell as in the West Bank) because this couldprovoke an Egyptian military response,including the transfer of aid, weapons, and

intelligence to Hamas, the deployment ofEgyptian forces in Sinai and/or in Gaza,stationing Egyptian antiaircraft systems on theborder of Gaza, and threats of direct militaryaction.

These developments can be averted if the U.S.and its allies take a firm position against anyinitiative to undermine the Treaty of Peacebetween Israel and Egypt, and all echelons of

the Egyptian establishment are made tounderstand the implications of any such action.


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* * *

Notes

1.

http://www.ikhwanonline.com/new/Article.aspx?ArtID=96953&SecID=0

2. http://www.hurryh.com/Party_Program.aspx

3.http://www.hurryh.com/Provinces/Our_news_D

etails.aspx?News_ID=1933&ID=23

4.http://www.hurryh.com/Provinces/Our_news_Details.aspx?News_ID=2000

5.http://www.hurryh.com/Party_Article_Details.aspx?News_ID=1872


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6.http://www.hurryh.com/Our_news_Details.aspx

?News_ID=18507.http://www.hurryh.com/ar_print.aspx?print_ID=4579

8.

http://www.hurryh.com/Our_news_Details.aspx?News_ID=1954

9. The QIZ Agreement (QIZ-QualifiedIndustrial Zones) was signed in 2005 betweenthe governments of the United States, Israel andEgypt. The agreement defined industrial zoneswhose factories would receive a customsexemption on their exports to the United Statesif a certain percentage of the raw materialsoriginated in Israel.

10.



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11.http://www.ikhwanonline.com/new/Article.aspx

?SecID=213&ArtID=9252312.http://www.ikhwanonline.com/new/Article.aspx?SecID=213&ArtID=92523

13.


14.http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/ar-LB/salafi-egypte-pb-5363323219.htm

15.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tCfUs6upxQ&feature=youtu.be

16.http://www.facebook.com/AlnourParty/posts/211082628974957

* * *


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Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi is a seniorresearcher of the Middle East and radical Islam

at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He isa co-founder of the Orient Research Group Ltd.and is a former advisor to the Policy PlanningDivision of the Israel Ministry of ForeignAffairs.

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Are Egypt's Islamic Parties Planning to Nullify the Peace Treaty with Israel?

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