LONDON — Newly leaked US diplomatic cables suggest that Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman was long seen by Israel as the preferred candidate to succeed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
According to a 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks, and published Monday by the
Daily Telegraph newspaper on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told US diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as "at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated."
The cable quoted the advisor, David Hacham, as saying that he sometimes spoke to Suleiman's deputy several times a day via a "hotline."
The diplomats added: "There is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman.
