Despite their long-established relations, at least on the official level, Egypt-Israeli affairs have never faced fatal threats as they do in 2011.
Since signing their peace treaty in 1979 under the full support of the United States, Egypt-Israeli official relations have resisted all major tests over more than three decades, including Israel's attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Baghdad (1981); the invasion of Lebanon (1982); two Palestinian intifadas; and various military operations in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza, plus military tensions across borders. However, Egypt managed to maintain most of the articles in the military part of the treaty and helped softening the heat in the Arab-Israeli discourse, especially the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
With Egypt having toppled the Mubarak regime and passing through a transitional period to rebuild its political system with uncertainties on its future and foreign policies, Israel faces the most critical challenge to its relations with Egypt, which have always been the cornerstone for stability and peace — even if cold — in the Middle East. Taking into consideration the recent deterioration of its diplomatic and economic relations with Turkey — the second most important ally after Egypt in the region — and the Arab Spring popular uprisings, it is no exaggeration to conclude that the whole region will be reconstructed soon on different pillars and bases where Israel should "act" instead of "react" before it is too late.
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