Israel Matzav: Another 'peace dividend' from the Egyptians

Another 'peace dividend' from the Egyptians

A 43-nation summit that was to include the foreign ministers of the European Union and 16 southern Mediterranean countries, including Israel, has been canceled due to the refusal of ten Arab countries, led by Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, to sit at the same time with Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. Israel and Egypt have ostensibly been at peace for the last thirty years.

The summit was due to take place in Istanbul in November. In response to the summit's cancellation, Foreign Ministry sources in Jerusalem told Army Radio that it was "a shame that Egypt is serving as a negative influence in the region, by turning a meeting intended to benefit it and other states in the area into a political issue."

The sources said that by turning the summit into an opportunity to shun the minister, Cairo is both "harming itself and angering the European states."

In Istanbul on Monday, some 500 pro-Islamic Turks marched on the Israeli consulate, where they burned an Israeli flag.

Can this relationship be saved? I doubt it.

Israel Matzav: Another 'peace dividend' from the Egyptians