The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Saturday distanced itself from comments
by Defense Ministry security and diplomacy chief Amos Gilad's cold characterization of the Israel-Egypt relationship as non-existent, and refernce to the Muslim Brotherhood's rule as a "terrible dictatorship."
"Amos Gilad's
comments in no way represent those of the government of Israel. The
government of Israel does not interfere in the internal affairs of other
countries. We remain commitment to the peace treaty with Egypt," a senior official in the PMO said.
The clarification comes in response to remarks made by Gilad
at the IDC Herzliya's "Strategic Fridays" event, in which he said that
"There is no talking going on between (Israel's) and Egypt's political
echelons, and I don't think there will be."
The Defense Ministry on Friday also distanced itself from the remarks, though it
highlighted the positive aspects of Gilad's lecture, pointing to the
fact that Gilad's central themes were the strategic importance of
upholding the peace treaty with Egypt and maintaining good bilateral
relations between the two countries.
The ministry concluded that
Gilad had no intention of interfering with internal Egyptian politics
but rather merely was expressing concern over possible upheaval in the
Middle East.
In this respect, Gilad had referred to what he
described as the radicalization of Egypt following the Muslim
Brotherhood's rise to power, saying "a terrible dictatorship sprouted
from the desire for democracy (in Egypt)."
He also said that "[Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi] will not speak with us [Israel]."
Nevertheless, Gilad stressed that Israel must preserve the peace treaty with Egypt "at any cost."