While the U.S. seems to soften its stance against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israel's prime minister on Monday warned of the possible dangers in the wake of the riots in Egypt. "Egypt may follow Iran, and threaten its own people and the people around," Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday night during a meeting of "European Friends of Israel" lobby in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
According to Netanyahu, "Egypt faces many other options beyond the liberal democratic models. The first option is the adoption of secular reforms in the country. The second option is that Islamists will take advantage of the coup to take over the country and take it backwards. The third option is that Egypt would follow Iran."
The Israeli leader mentioned the events in Iran during 2009 and how the opposition was suppressed by force. Netanyahu said that "the earthquake that began some weeks ago in Tunisia, later struck Egypt and we do not know how far it will go. I do not know what will happen in Egypt, our interest is clear - to preserve the peace that already exists for the past three decades. This peace brought stability to the south (of Israel)."
