“On a tactical level, in Sinai, the ties will likely be upheld to safeguard common interests, but they will gradually cool. While newly-appointed Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the former intelligence chief, maintained working relations with his counterparts in Israel, he is viewed as a critic of the Jewish state. The commander of Egypt’s Third Army, who was appointed chief of staff on Sunday, has no apparent reason to establish working relations with Israel.

The Obama administration received a slap in the face from Morsi yesterday. The sacked army chief, Enan, was the US government’s “man” in Egypt’s military leadership, but Morsi was not impressed. It is becoming abundantly clear that Egypt now has a strong leader who “chopped off” the army’s political legs while conducting a military campaign against the Bedouins in Sinai. At the same time, he showed Hamas in Gaza the “red card.”

The damage caused to Egypt’s pro-West and secular military may eventually jeopardize the peace treaty with Israel. In the meantime, when Morsi was asked what his three main goals were, he replied: Economy, economy, economy. This answer indicates that a significant revision of the peace accord is not likely, but the processes in Egypt are so dynamic, fast and unexpected, that it is difficult to predict what the relationship between Israel and Egypt will seem like in a few months’ time.”

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