Islamist Parties to Abide by Camp David – For Now

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani

"CAIRO, Jan 19, 2012 (IPS) - The Islamist landslide in recently concluded parliamentary polls has led to fears in some quarters of an impending paradigm shift in Egyptian foreign policy. Most local analysts, however, dismiss the likelihood of any sea changes, especially when it comes to the sensitive issues of Palestine and the Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

"An Islamist-led parliament is unlikely to make any major foreign policy realignments, especially in terms of the Palestine/Israel file," Gamal Fahmi, political analyst and managing editor of Egyptian opposition weekly Al-Arabi Al-Nassiri told IPS.....

Hindi believes that Salafist parties, too, despite their ultraconservative outlook and hard-line reputation, are unlikely to take any steps - at least in the short term - that might threaten the status quo in terms of Egypt-Israel relations.

"The Islamic scholars (ulema) that lead the Salafist movement are closely linked to the ruling dynasties of the Gulf, particularly the Saudis, who are themselves close allies of Washington," said Hindi. "And since Israeli regional ascendancy represents a priority for Washington, I doubt the Saudi-backed Salafist parties would do anything to dramatically impact Egypt's relations with Israel."

Indeed, late last month, Nour Party spokesman Yosri Hammad declared the party's intention to respect the treaty. "We do not object to the treaty; we believe Egypt is committed to all treaties signed by former governments," he said. He added, however, that the party would use all legal means to amend "unfair clauses" in the agreement......"