Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor on Monday expressed a cautious optimism that Israel-Egyptian relations would be maintained despite Sunday's presidential election victory of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamad Morsy.
"The story in Egypt has not yet finished," he said, "but we hope that the bilateral cooperation will continue and that the peace treaties signed by (former prime minister Menachem) Begin and (former Egyptian president Anwar) Sadat will be honored."
Speaking at a Jewish Agency conference in Jerusalem, Meridor added that Morsy's election victory is the latest change in an unstable Middle East. "When we look around us, everything looks quiet and calm. But in reality, the world is trembling."
Turning to the ongoing massacre of civilians by Syrian President Bashar Assad, Meridor said: "If the Syrian regime falls, and I hope it does because of its cruelty, it will be a severe blow to Iran."
Meridor also said that it is incumbent upon the international community to display resolve in confronting the Iranian threat. "There is a struggle between Iran and the civilized world. If Iran is allowed to achieve nuclear weapons status, it will change the rules of the game completely."