EVEN as Islamists claimed an overwhelming victory in the initial stage of Egypt’s first post-revolution elections, Israeli officials expressed concern over the future of times with Cairo.
“We are worried, I hope that democracy will prevail in Egypt and that the country won’t become an extremist Islamist state because that would put the whole region in danger,” Finance minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel public radio.
The results of the first part of the Egyptian elections showed Islamists sweeping 65 percent of the vote.
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The figures put the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party in the lead, as expected, but also showed the Salafist hardline Islamists netting a surprise 25 percent of the vote.
The emerging election results vindicated the Jewish state’s cautious approach to the Arab Spring of revolts against autocratic rulers, an Israeli official said.
However, Israeli officials claim their landmark 1979 peace deal with Egypt is not at risk.
Yitzhak Levanon, the outgoing Israeli ambassador to Cairo, said he could not foresee any scrapping of the deal which made Egypt the first Arab state to make peace with Israel.
Other officials point out that the treaty remains in the interests of Egypt, Israel and the United States.
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