Israel's prime minister said he looked forward to co-operating with Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president, sounding a more positive note than the Israeli press and several former ministers.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, attempted to play down fears that his country was on a collision course with Egypt on Monday, despite mounting anxiety over the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential election victory. Netanyahu said he looked forward to co-operating with Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president, sounding a more positive note than the Israeli press and several former ministers.
"We expect to work together with the new administration on the basis of our peace treaty," Netanyahu said. "I believe that peace is important to Israel. I believe that peace is important to Egypt. I believe that peace is a vital interest for both countries."
The headlines in the Israeli media reflected the concern across parts of the Middle East about the rise of the Brotherhood that contrasted sharply with Sunday night's scenes of triumph in Cairo's Tahrir Square. "Darkness in Egypt" read the headline yesterday in Yediot Aharonot, the country's best-selling paper.
The same tone was reflected in interviews with former officials. "We must seek dialogue with the Islamists, and at the same time be prepared for war," said Benjamin Ben Eliezer, a former defence minister.
Their anxiety would undoubtedly have been heightened by a report carried by the Iranian news agency Fars yesterday, which quoted Morsi as supposedly saying he wanted to restore relations with Tehran as part of a "rebalancing" exercise of Egypt's foreign policy.
It also quoted him as suggesting that the Brotherhood would "reconsider the Camp David Accord" that, in 1979, forged a peace between Egypt and Israel that has held for more than three decades.
The Egyptian presidency last night denied that Morsi spoke to Fars. In a statement to Egypt's state news agency, a spokesperson said: "Morsi did not give any interview to Fars and everything that this agency has published is without foundation."
In his victory address, Morsi promised to respect existing treaties, including the Camp David Accords. "We will preserve all international treaties and charters," he said. "We come in peace."
Morsi's comments are largely theoretical as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has reserved to itself the right to dictate foreign policy. In the longer term, though, the Brotherhood is likely to become more assertive, particularly if there is a new conflict in Gaza, which borders Egypt.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, called for stronger ties between Iran and Egypt following Morsi's victory. "I congratulate you for your victory as head of Egypt, a friendly and brotherly country," Ahmadinejad said.
Yasser El-Shimy, a former Egyptian diplomat now working as an analyst, said Egypt would have to readdress its relationship with Israel. "You are not going to have the same kind of policy that Egypt had with Israel in the time of Mubarak," he said. "You are going to have to show the Egyptian people that there is something in it for them."
Morsi moved into the presidential palace yesterday and was in talks with the head of SCAF, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, about forming a government. Brotherhood officials confirmed that they were discussing offering the prime minister's office to Mohammed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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