Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 5 / Trend A. Tagiyeva /
Israeli Former Deputy Foreign Minister Yehuda Ben Meir does not rule out the possibility of sharp deterioration in Israeli-Egyptian relations if Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood movement come to power in Egypt.
"Using the democratic movement, the Muslim Brotherhood movement may come to power in Egypt. This will undoubtedly lead to deterioration of relations between the two countries, " Ben-Meir told Trend over phone from Tel Aviv.
The most massive anti-governmental protests took place in Egypt over the last decade. Thousands of people in different cities all over the country went into the streets calling for the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and dissolving the parliament.
Roughly 160 people died and more than 4,000 people were injured during the riots.
Last week, Mubarak appeared on national television with a statement in which he promised that he would not run for the sixth term as president in the upcoming September elections.
Muslim Brotherhood movement, the largest Islamic political organization in Egypt, has been officially banned since 1954. Its representatives participated in parliamentary and municipal elections.
On Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned about the threat of representatives of the Islamists' coming to power in neighboring Egypt.
Israel clearly took the side of Mubarak's regime, linking it with the hopes for the continuation of policy based on observing the Camp David peace agreement of 1979.
According to the local press, Israeli authorities appealed to the United States and Europe with a request to refrain at least from criticizing Mubarak. They also secretly permitted the Egyptian authorities to enter the regular troops to a demilitarized Sinai Peninsula to prevent unrest.
Ben Meir also said that the Muslim Brotherhood movement is an extremist fundamental-Islamic organization that has repeatedly made anti-Israeli statements. It is an ardent opponent of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
"Camp David agreement brought the economic development to Egypt. I am confident that the Egyptian people do not wish to break the peaceful relations with Israel," he said.
Camp David agreement is the conclusion of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. This process consisted of two parts. The preliminary agreement was reached at a summit in Camp David (US) in 1978. Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in Washington in 1979.
Ben Meir also does not exclude the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood's coming to power under the control of the military and the democratic forces of Egypt.
"If the Muslim Brotherhood come to power in Egypt, they will likely to be managed by the military and democratic forces. This will limit their activity, " he said.
Ben Meir stressed that in any case, Israel will try to maintain good relations with Egypt.