Israel to West: Stop bashing Mubarak

30 January 2011 - 20:30

News ID: 223523

Israel has called on Western powers to curb their criticism of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak amid the country's popular uprising, a report says.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Tel Aviv is seeking to convince its allies, that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime.

In a special cable sent by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to its embassies in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and several European countries, ambassadors were told to stress to their host countries the importance of maintaining Egypt's stability.

"The Americans and the Europeans are being pulled along by public opinion and aren't considering their genuine interests… Even if they are critical of Mubarak, they have to make their friends feel that they're not alone," a senior Israeli official told the Israeli daily, Ha'aretz.

The diplomatic measure came after US President Barack Obama called on Mubarak to take "concrete steps" toward democratic reforms and to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters.

However, at the same time, US Vice President Joe Biden expressed support for the embattled Egyptian president, exclaiming that it was not yet time for his resignation.

"Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he's been very responsible ... relative to the geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing the relationship with Israel,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers are set to discuss the situation in Egypt at a special session in Belgium's capital, Brussels, on Monday. They are expected to issue a statement similar to that of Obama.

Analysts say the double-standard stance adopted by the West aims to keep the Egyptian establishment in power without Mubarak.

Israeli officials have so far kept a low profile on the events in Egypt, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even ordering cabinet members to avoid commenting publicly on the issue.

Netanyahu is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation in troubled Egypt.

Egypt is a key Western ally in the Middle East and the first Arab state to enter a peace accord with Israel.

The escalation of protests across Egypt has raised speculations that the uprising could end in the overthrow of the government of President Mubarak, who has preserved peace with Tel Aviv for 30 years.

Israel is extremely concerned that the regime change could endanger the peace treaty that was signed between the two sides in 1979.

So far, more than 150 people have been killed across Egypt in the demonstrations which started last Tuesday and have continued nonstop since that time.

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