The New Egyptian Parliament Takes Aim at the Camp David Accords
March 15, 2012 by Jonathan D. Halevi
http://jerusalemcenter.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/the-new-egyptian-parliament-takes-aim-at-the-camp-david-accords/

The new Egyptian Parliament recently issued a statement undermining the 1979
peace agreement by proclaiming it was Israel’s bitter enemy. On March 12,
2012, Dr. Mohamed Al-Saed Idris, Chairman of the Arab Affairs Committee in
the Parliament, presented the committee’s official outline of Egypt’s
regional policy, as approved by a parliamentary majority that included the
Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafi party, and the Egyptian Left parties. Idris
is one of the founders of the Kefaya protest movement and a member of the
leftist al-Karama party, which has formed an alliance with the Muslim
Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party.

The statement of the Arab Affairs Committee is important in its wording and
content. The term “the State of Israel� is not mentioned and is replaced
throughout by the terms “Zionist entity� and “the enemy.� The statement
focused on recent tensions between Israel and Gaza (Israeli attacks against
Palestinian terrorist organizations and the launching of hundreds of rockets
into Israel). It celebrates Palestinian terrorism, which is called
“resistance,� and denies the very existence of Israel, which it defines as
“an imperialist settlement entity� which is of “an aggressive nature� and
which “drove a nation from its land by force to establish a racist state.�
The U.S. is also blamed by the Egyptian parliament for its unconditional
support of Israel.

The committee’s statement included a list of operative recommendations to
the political echelon, including:

-An official definition of Israel as an enemy – “Post-revolutionary Egypt
will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity, which we see
as the foremost enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation. Egypt will treat this
entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government should reconsider its entire
relationship and agreements with this enemy and the threat it poses to the
security and national interests of Egypt.�

-Severance of diplomatic relations with Israel – “The expulsion of the
Israeli ambassador from Egypt, returning the Egyptian ambassador from Tel
Aviv, cessation of the export of -Egyptian gas to that entity, freezing of
activities under the QIZ agreement [the Qualified Industrial Zones trade
agreement] whose terms violate the sovereignty and national interests of
Egypt.�

-Full support for the armed struggle against Israel – “Providing all means
of support to the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, in order to
allow this nation to stand firm against Israel’s policy of aggression.
Adopting resistance in all its forms and manifestations, and referring to
this path as the strategic path to the liberation of occupied land, after
the leaders of the Zionist entity stressed that the so-called peace process
is nothing but a track of lies and red tape in order to gain time to Judaize
and annex all of what that entity wants to Judaize and annex in the land of
Palestine.�

-Re-adoption of the total boycott of Israel – “A return to the total Arab
boycott policy that includes the Zionist entity and the international
companies that maintain ties with it, and referring to the boycott as a
factor which supports the struggle.�

-Raising the issue of Jerusalem as a major issue in the international
arena – “Demanding from the Arab states and the Al-Quds Committee [of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference] to act against the Zionist entity’s
plans to Judaize Al-Quds [the Arabic name of Jerusalem] and force it to
become the eternally united capital of the entity, and to work diligently in
all international organizations and channels in order to determine that the
Zionist attacks which threaten the Al-Aqsa Mosque are crimes against
humanity, history and culture.�

-Support for a united Palestinian front for the liberation of Palestine – “A
call to all Palestinian organizations and factions to unite, renounce their
differences and divisions, and work for the restoration of the PLO to lead
the Palestinian struggle to liberate the occupied land.�

-Reviewing Egyptian nuclear policy – “A demand that the Egyptian government
reopen the Israeli nuclear issue and discuss Israeli nuclear capabilities,
as they can cause a direct threat to Egyptian national security and Arab
national security. The U.S. and the international community…must act as
seriously toward the Israeli nuclear threat as they act toward what they
consider an Iranian nuclear threat. Egypt must be prepared to immediately
examine the Egyptian nuclear policy which is opposed to nuclear
proliferation and which demands to make the Middle East a zone free of
weapons of mass destruction. Israel is the only country that refuses to sign
a treaty against nuclear proliferation and to open its nuclear facilities,
and particularly the reactor in Dimona, to inspectors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.�

■An active and effective policy against Israel – “We demand action and not
just words, serious actions are worthy of post-revolutionary Egypt, its
government and its parliament. We swear that we will never be neglectful in
protecting our homeland and our nation.�

The Arab Affairs Committee’s statement was unanimously accepted and
applauded in Parliament and reflects the true perception of the Islamic
elements in the Egyptian political leadership (which is also shared by the
leftist organizations). In its eyes, Israel is the foremost enemy of Egypt
and the Arab and Islamic world, and the peace agreement with it (the Camp
David agreement) is considered a dead letter.

The new Egyptian tone indicates the beginning of the formation of an
Egyptian policy of confrontation against Israel, first of all in the
political and economic spheres and through direct support of the Palestinian
armed struggle. Egypt is setting itself on a collision course with Israel,
using the Palestinian issue in all its aspects – including Israeli military
operations against Palestinian terrorism as well as Israeli policy in
Jerusalem or the West Bank – as an excuse for direct Egyptian intervention.
At the operational level, the new Egyptian leadership declares its
commitment “to assist the Palestinian struggle/resistance in all its forms
and manifestations,� which means providing direct assistance to Palestinian
terrorism, which may be expressed through money, weapons, training, and
transfer of intelligence.

Defining Israel as a “major enemy� which threatens national Egyptian and
Arab security is of great importance, since its translation into action
means building a military capability to deal with the “Israeli threat,�
including an attempt to deny Israel any advantage in the nuclear field
and/or the development of Egyptian nuclear weapons.

At present, the new Egyptian political leadership cannot translate these
policies into actions. The Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi party attained an
absolute majority in the Parliament and the Upper House, but the full
transfer of powers from the military government to the elected civilian
government has not yet been completed.

Today, Egyptian foreign policy is not directed by the Egyptian Parliament.
For now, Egypt is still controlled by the military and the government
leaders appointed by it. This situation is likely to change after the
presidential elections on May 23-24 and the establishment of a new civilian
government. The division of responsibility between the new government and
the military in the future remains to be seen. But the Muslim Brotherhood’s
victory in the presidential election could potentially complete its takeover
of the political system in Egypt and allow the Islamic movement to
accelerate its political consolidation, to purge the army of its old guard,
and to recapture a leadership position in the Arab world, based in part on
the struggle against Israel.

The Egyptian position, which is completely supportive of Hamas and the
struggle against Israel, in practice, eliminates the ability of the
Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, to lead
political moves toward an historic compromise agreement with Israel.
Moreover, it gradually prepares the ground for permanent political friction
with Israel which, if not addressed, could even develop into military
clashes (against an Israeli action in Gaza or along the border between
Israel and Egypt).

* * *

Reference: Video of Dr. Idris in the Egyptian Parliament, March 12, 2012,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApadVvms-us