![Egyptian army special forces soldiers deploy before the concrete barrier marking the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Rafah in the east of North Sinai province on October 20, 2023. [KEROLOS SALAH/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1735108228.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt and political analyst, Haim Koren, said that Egyptian threats to sever relations with Israel must be taken seriously.
In an interview with Israeli Radio 103FM, Koren added that the Egyptians are already in a bad economic situation and they cannot tolerate instability on their eastern borders any longer.
“The threat to freeze or cancel the peace agreement confirms that we are facing a worrying situation in their attitude towards us,” he said.
He explained that the mere threat of joining South Africa’s lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, and the threats to freeze the peace agreement, is a worrying aggravation of the Egyptian position towards Israel, and stems from several reasons that Tel Aviv must pay attention to.
“I assume that our leaders are negotiating with the Egyptians beyond the public skirmishes, and are trying to reduce the level of fire a little. The Egyptians are under great pressure, because we and the Iranian Shia are sitting on their borders in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, their revenues from the Suez Canal have been greatly affected, and the economy was severely impacted,” he added.
He said Israel’s foreign minister had asked European foreign ministers to intervene and prevent the deterioration of relations with Egypt, adding that the conversation with the Egyptians indicates great tensions in relations.