Israel Welcomes Egypt's New Ambassador Appointment to Tel Aviv

Amid deep crises in the Middle East, with the announcement of Egypt sending a new ambassador to Israel, relations between Israel and Jordan have also strengthened. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, expressed satisfaction with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's decision to send a new ambassador to Tel Aviv. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu stated on Sunday, June 31, that Egypt's decision is 'important' and welcomed by Israel. It was announced that Egypt has appointed Mr. Hazem Khairat as the new ambassador to Tel Aviv among its new diplomatic appointments in the region and the world. According to Israeli media, Mr. Khairat, from an old Egyptian diplomatic family, will arrive in Israel in two months. Egypt has also appointed Mr. Mansour Reda, the former ambassador to Tel Aviv, as the new ambassador to the United States. Three years ago, Egypt recalled its ambassador, Atef Selim, from Tel Aviv and did not send him back. In the fall of 2012, when the Israeli army attacked Gaza in an operation known as 'Pillar of Defense,' Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood representative who was the President of Egypt, recalled his ambassador from Israel. During the short rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the country did not sever relations with Israel. Despite changes in the region over the past years, the Egyptian embassy has continuously operated in the commercial heart of Tel Aviv. In past events, the Israeli embassy in Cairo was attacked several times by extremist Islamist groups in Egypt, but Israel has always maintained its diplomatic staff in the country. According to Ynet, Haim Korin, the new Israeli ambassador in Cairo, recently congratulated the Egyptian people on the arrival of Ramadan in fluent Arabic, saying 'Ramadan Kareem.' Egypt established full diplomatic relations at the ambassador level with Israel in 1978 as a result of the Camp David peace agreement brokered by Jimmy Carter between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, the then leaders of the United States, Israel, and Egypt. Hosni Mubarak maintained close relations with Israel during his nearly thirty years of presidency, but he never visited the country. Analysts in Israeli media say that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has largely returned to the policies of the Hosni Mubarak era regarding Israel during his two years of leadership in Egypt. Simultaneously, relations between Israel and its eastern Muslim and Arab neighbor, Jordan, have improved. According to the Associated Press, one sign of this improvement may be the establishment of an Israeli think tank in Amman, the capital of Jordan. Since the onset of the Arab Spring crises in 2011, Jordan has signed natural gas and seawater desalination contracts with Israel in recent months, and Israeli officials report 'closer security cooperation' between the two countries. According to Israel Radio, Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, also recently praised the stability of Jordan in this crisis-ridden region in Arabic on the anniversary of Jordan's independence. Israel and Jordan established full political relations in 1994 with the signing of a peace treaty by Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein, the then leaders of Israel and Jordan, brokered by Bill Clinton, the then President of the United States. Meanwhile, given the Palestinian majority in Jordan, public opposition to the peace relations of this country with Israel is occasionally expressed through passionate demonstrations, but the Jordanian government has stated that it is interested in maintaining relations with Israel in line with the 'interests' of the country.