Israeli expert to Netanyahu: Don't depend on Al-Sisi

In the clearest indication of the shock felt at the low turnout at the Egyptian presidential elections, and understanding the limited popularity of the coup, an Israeli military and academic expert called on decision makers in Tel Aviv not to depend on Al-Sisi’s reign and to prepare for worse scenarios in the future.

Amos Yadlin, former head of the military intelligence and head of the Centre for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University said: “The weak participation for the elections was not surprising.”

In an interview with Hebrew radio on Wednesday, Yadlin said: “I have said in the past and I repeat today, Egyptians who rebelled against tyranny and dictatorship will not be ruled under a military dictatorship again, what we need to know about Egyptians is that they’ve conquered their fears and old methods will not succeed in silencing them.”

Yaldin stressed that the lesson Israel must learn from what is happening in Egypt is that they must work with the changes the Arab world is undergoing on the basis that they are “waves of successive change and should not build visions and strategies on the concept of the current stability”.

He noted that although continued stability under Al-Sisi is in Israel’s interest, as he pushed for security cooperation and strategic partnership with Tel Aviv in an unprecedented way, they must prepare for strategic alternatives for the post-Sisi stage.

For his part, Professor Yoram Meital, chairman of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University, said that the low turnout for the elections shows a heightened political awareness in Egypt, and that Egyptians are determined to resist any return to dictatorship.

The Jerusalem Post yesterday reported Meital as saying the new regime in Egypt will not succeed in placing the foundation of stability, pointing out that these elections clearly demonstrated that the Egyptian society is greatly polarised and you cannot ensure stability whilst attempting to exclude a large and influential sector of the Egyptian people.

As is the case with other extreme right wing Zionist elites, Professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, Bar Iran University, has sprung to Al-Sisi’s defence.

The newspaper quoted Inbar as saying that there is a clear intention for Israel to support the stability of Al-Sisi’s regime and his ability to ensure economic prosperity for Egypt.

The newspaper pointed out that the low participation indicates that impression of Al-Sisi’s popularity is fading, noting that his success depends on proving to the world that he holds great internal power, as well as his need for the economic aid provided by the Gulf.

Shadi Hamid, a researcher at the Brookings Institute, was quoted as saying that talk about Al-Sisi’s popularity is synonymous with the absence of queues at polling stations, indicating that the weak turnout left the government agitated.