US said pressuring Morsi to invite Peres for talks
Israel’s president tells Arab journalists he’d meet Egypt’s new Islamist leader any time, any place
Elhanan Miller is the former Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
The US is said to be pressuring Egypt’s newly elected President Mohammed Morsi to meet with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in Egypt.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the matter with Morsi during their meeting in Cairo Saturday, Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida reported, quoting “knowledgeable sources.”
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Peres said he was willing to meet Morsi at any time.
“We are interested in dialogue with the Egyptian leadership as soon as possible and will respect any way and time for dialogue,” Peres told journalists at his residence on the eve of the month of Ramadan. “The Egyptian people have just concluded an election process and we respect the results.”
Israel’s relations with Egypt deteriorated sharply during the popular uprising which brought down Hosni Mubarak, a political ally of Israel. On September 10, 2011, hundreds of Egyptian protesters stormed the Israeli embassy, tearing down the Israeli flag atop the building. The embassy was subsequently shut and has not been reopened. Some Israeli commentators fear that Morsi’s Islamist government will annul the Camp David peace accords with Israel, but the Egyptian president has indicated that it will not.
According to Al-Jarida, the United States has pledged “political and material support” for Morsi in return for a meeting with Peres, Israel’s elder statesman, in Cairo or at the Sinai resort town of Sharm Al-Sheikh. Peres will invite Morsi to visit Tel Aviv and pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the daily reports.
Following Morsi’s victory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said June 24 that “Israel looks forward to continuing cooperation with the Egyptian government on the basis of the peace treaty between the two countries.”