The new issue of Bitterlemons International includes two great articles on the relationship between Israel and Egypt. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak touts his role in the peace process, negotiations for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, and Palestinian reconcilliation. Moreover, as Mubarak faces growing opposition from the Muslim brotherhood, the Egyptian leader has cracked down on Muslim extremism, which includes preventing munition from reaching Hamas in the Gaza Strip through smuggling routes in the Sinai Penninsula.

Ashraf Khalil discusses factors revolving around the mutual interests between Israel and Egypt, even though Cairo may not always acknowledge the shared goals. To accentuate this point, Khalil writes:

“The Israelis like to call it the “cold peace”. The Egyptians would rather not call it anything at all because that would admit there’s actually something there to name.”

Egyptian officials have permitted various Israeli military operations without intentionally generating hype. The recent Israeli attack on a weapons convoy from Sudan used Egyptian airspace but did not generate a response from Egyptian officials. Similarly, IDF warships crossed the Suez Canal, including one submarine, to threaten Iran; Egyptian officials remained tight-lipped.

Another article from the recent Bitterlemons International issue questions the relationship between Israel and Egypt, describing recent cooperation as “episodic” and laden with “distrust.” The main factors hindering the alliance include the mistrust among the populations in both countries that still regard one another as enemies. Similarly, Egypt must refrain from alligning itslef too closely with Israel in order to retain standing in the Arab world. Similarly, the IDF has strenghtened its pressence in the north due to concerns regarding Hezbollah instead of increasing coordination efforts with the Egyptian military on mutual interests in the south. Amb. James Larocco includes a list of actions that both countries should undertake in order to strengthen their relationship and coordination towards issues of mutual concern. His list states:

“* The Israeli leadership must make clear that upgrading the security relationship with Egypt is a key short- and long-term national security priority, and be prepared to devote the necessary time and human resources on a sustained basis. There should be a holistic approach, starting with the leaders themselves but bringing together all elements at all levels, within and outside the government.
* The IDF should establish a true liaison office, in the Operations Directorate, headed by a flag-rank officer. That office should retain key staff as long as possible, allowing for the building and maintaining of personal and professional relationships with their Egyptian counterparts. If necessary, retired officers with existing ties should be brought into the office.
* Egypt should accept the institutionalization of military-to-military ties, especially between operational officers at all levels, recognizing this is not only key to building trust during a time of transition but is also essential for any prospect of achieving the longer-term goal of replicating what Israel has with Jordan: no demilitarized zone and no foreign forces.
* Egypt should be open to expanding bilateral intelligence cooperation, to include intelligence agencies that have a key role in the Sinai and other border areas.
* Israel should consider ways to ease the burden of Gaza on Egypt, perhaps through the establishment of a border crossing regime that ensures that Gazans have sustained access to needed goods and services. In exchange, Egypt must convincingly do all it can to stop smuggling of certain items into Gaza.
* Both sides should expand their dialogue on their shared border, with regular biannual meetings chaired by senior operational military leadership and quarterly meetings at the technical level.”