Political circles here are clearly worried over the possible deterioration of relations with Egypt because of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. They are warning that while Egypt will honor the letter of its peace treaty with Israel, the normalization process could be halted and the relations between the two countries could revert to a state of non-belligerency rather than that of partners in peace.
According to these circles such a trend is evident in the strong anti-Israel line adopted by the Egyptian press since the war in Lebanon began and the tough statements by President Hosni Mubarak who has been urging the U.S. to exert pressure on Israel to loosen its grip around Beirut.
Israeli circles concede that Mubarak’s position has been badly shaken by the events in Lebanon at a time when Cairo is trying to repair its relations with the rest of the Arab world. They say the Egyptian President appears to be confused over what line to take. But other Middle East experts said that Egypt was in an advantageous position since it is the only Arab country to have diplomatic relations with Israel and open lines to all other parties concerned in the Lebanese conflict.
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