40 years after peace with Egypt, Rivlin says treaty should inspire deal with Palestinians

President Reuven Rivlin hosts an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Israel-Egypt peace agreement, saying that treaty should serve as an inspiration for peace with the Palestinians.

“Two generations of Israelis and Egyptians know only peace between our countries,” Rivlin tells Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Khaled Azmi. “The gift of peace is a tremendous gift which the leaders of Egypt and Israel have given to their children and grandchildren. I want to especially express our appreciation to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi whose commitment to peace, stability and cooperation has ensured that our relationship stays strong.”

“The peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was signed only six years after a terrible war between our countries in 1973,” he continues. “We could never have imagined that only a few years later our leaders would hug and shake hands. This should serve as an inspiration for our efforts to achieve peace with all of our neighbors, and especially our Palestinian neighbors and cousins.

“When courageous leaders are willing to end their conflict, and set out on a new path based on reconciliation and mutual respect, peace can be achieved more quickly than we can imagine,” he concludes, calling the Israel-Egypt peace treaty “the cornerstone of stability in the Middle East.”

Azmi agrees, saying that “Middle East peace can best be served by learning from our own past experiences. Our peace treaty has set important example in how Middle East peace is negotiated, and by what means should Arab and Israeli interests be accounted for in a peace process. Egypt was the pioneer in initiating peace in the Middle East.

“Our vision was, and still is, based on full nation-statehood and security for everyone in the region,” the Egyptian envoy adds, lamenting that “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has wasted the resources and disrupted the lives of the people of the Middle East for many decades. It is saddening to claim the status quo as the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians.”