ARAD CLAIMS RELATIONS WITH EGYPT "NEAR ALL-TIME

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 002585 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS EG IS SUBJECT: ARAD CLAIMS RELATIONS WITH EGYPT "NEAR ALL-TIME HIGH" Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (S) Summary. National Security Adviser Arad, in the course of a discussion of non-proliferation issues with visiting U/S Tauscher December 1, commented on the Netanyahu government's relations with Egypt, calling them regional "good news" and suggesting that ties to at least key sections of the Egyptian government were the best they have been in over a decade. Arad noted the ongoing contacts between Netanyahu and Mubarak, including a phone conversation a few days ago in which they reportedly agreed on a visit to Israel by Intelligence Minister Soliman. Arad admitted, however, that Israel's relations with the Egyptian MFA remain tense and that the Egyptians continue to boycott Foreign Minister Lieberman. While Arad may have overstated the case, it does appear that Mubarak and Netanyahu are comfortable with each other and share similar views on the Iranian threat. End Summary. ¶2. (S) During U/S Tauscher's December 1 meeting with National Security Adviser Uzi Arad (other issues covered in their meeting to be reported Septel),Arad commented that Israel's relations with Egypt represent "good news" in an otherwise gloomy regional situation. He described a comfortable personal relationship developing between PM Netanyahu and President Mubarak, noting that Mubarak had made positive references to Netanyahu during Mubarak's last visit to Washington, which Arad termed "not an easy thing" for Mubarak to have done given Netanyahu's image in the Arab world. The two converse periodically on the phone, including a conversation earlier this week in which they agreed that Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Soliman would visit Israel in the next week or so. Arad said Israel has good cooperation with Egypt on counter-smuggling, and shares similar concerns about Iran's regional ambitions and the activities of Iranian proxies such as Hizballah. While they differ on how to handle the Palestinian issue, Arad noted that Mubarak and Netanyahu nonetheless understand each other well and have similar views about how to handle Gaza. Arad went on to claim that when he recently asked an Egyptian contact to assess the bilateral relationship, the Egyptian had said that Israeli-Egyptian relations were "near an all-time high," perhaps the best since the death of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. ¶3. (S) The Israeli-Egyptian relationship is not uniformly good, however. Arad admitted that the GOI continues to have serious problems with the Foreign Minister Abul Gheit and the Egyptian MFA, which consistently "harasses us" at every opportunity, including on nuclear non-proliferation issues. Arad noted that part of the problem was the Egyptian refusal to deal with Foreign Minister Lieberman, which led Abul Gheit to repeatedly try to reach out to Arad and the NSC staff instead of dealing with their MFA counterparts. According to Arad, the Mossad enjoys good relations with Soliman's General Intelligence Service, which is also the main point of contact for MOD Pol-Mil Director Amos Gilad, but the military-military relationship is not nearly as close. In addition to Mubarak's warm relations with Netanyahu and President Peres, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Fuad Ben Eliezer has a close personal connection to Mubarak. Lieberman remains a problem for the Egyptians, he noted, since they will not forgive him for comments Lieberman made years earlier about bombing the Aswan Dam. ¶4. (S) Comment. We have noted for some time the development of a two-tiered Israeli-Egyptian relationship, in which a cooperative security and intelligence relationship is conducted in secrecy while the formal diplomatic relationship between ministries of foreign affairs remains frosty if not outright hostile. While we defer to Embassy Cairo's assessment of Egyptian public opinion, it appears from our vantage point that the Egyptian state-controlled media competes with the opposition press to see which can be more anti-Israeli, thus helping ensure that the productive part of the relationship must remain out of public view. Arad may have overstated the case, but we think there is something to his description of Mubarak and Netanyahu being more comfortable with each other than was the case with Olmert or Sharon. Netanyahu no doubt values the connection to Mubarak all the more given the rejection of him by other Arab leaders. MORENO