Netanyahu: Danger that Egypt will go in direction of Iran

Speaking to delegation of European Parliament members PM warns there are numerous possible outcomes for gov't upheaval in Egypt.

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
Netanyahu speech 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Netanyahu speech 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday warned that there are numerous possible outcomes for the governmental upheaval in Egypt- and noted that not all of them are necessarily democratic. “There is the possibility that the Islamists will take advantage of the situation to take control of the state,” he warned and “a third option that Egypt will go in the direction of Iran,” in which, he said, the regime would oppress its citizens and threaten its neighbors.
Speaking to a massive delegation of over 400 members of the European Parliament at the Knesset, Netanyahu emphasized that whatever the outcome, Israel’s interest is to maintain the 30-year-old peace with Egypt.
He explained that this served the interests of the entire region.
Israel, he said, expects that the international community will demand that any future Egyptian leader maintain the peace agreement signed by the two states.
The prime minister added that Israel must expand its peace to encompass the Palestinians, but while maintaining dependable security arrangements in light of the fact that the situation in the Palestinian Authority remains volatile.