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Netanyahu: Due to turmoil, Israel must get stronger

Wed, 2 Feb 2011 20:10 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Israel wary of Egypt peace fraying, urges Palestine talks

* General praises Cairo's "responsible" military chiefs

(Adds Israeli general on Egyptian military)

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

JERUSALEM, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for "bolstering Israel's might" in response to the turmoil unfolding in Egypt, while at the same time seeking to pursue peace efforts with the Palestinians.

In a speech to parliament, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's concerns that any regime that followed that of President Hosni Mubarak may follow a radical Islamist line, though Israel stood by protesters' calls for democratic reform.

"The basis of our stability, our future and for maintaining peace or widening it, particularly in unstable times, this basis lies in bolstering Israel's might," he added, in his toughest comments yet during a week of protests in Egypt.

The remark appeared to suggest Israel may need to expand its armed forces if a 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, Israel's first with an Arab nation, failed to survive the unrest or seemed less durable than in the past.

Israel's chief of armed forces, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, cautiously praised to his counterparts in Cairo.

"The peace with Egypt is a strategic asset and I must say that the Egyptian military, at least up until now, has been operating in a responsible manner and is making every effort to stabilise the situation in Egypt," he told reporters.

"And I hope that this situation will indeed be stabilised."

Peace with Egypt secured Israel a quiet border with what was once its largest Arab foe. Netanyahu said he hoped world leaders would ensure that Egypt stuck by that deal.

The treaty with Egypt has enabled Israel to considerably scale back military expenditure. Security expenditure is currently about 9 percent of GDP, down from 30 percent in the years just before the treaty with Egypt was signed.

EXPERT: ISRAEL NEEDS 'MUCH STRONGER ARMY'

Dan Schueftan, of the University of Haifa, said in an interview that the uncertainty in Cairo, which could last for months, meant Israel might need to build "a much stronger army and increase the defence budget in a major way".

Netanyahu also accused Iran of hoping Egypt would "turn into another Gaza Strip" where Hamas Islamists opposed to Israel rule, rather than a Western-style democracy.

Netanyahu had earlier this week expressed a fear that Egypt may go the way of Iran, a sworn enemy of Israel, if an Islamist political party gained the upper hand as a result of the unrest.

Turning to Israel's Palestinian neighbours, Netanyahu urged President Mahmoud Abbas to seize what he saw as an opportunity created by the unrest in Egypt, to renew stalled peace talks.

At the same time, Netanyahu said that gaps in both sides' positions were possibly "too wide to bridge" to conclude a deal.

U.S.-brokered talks with Palestinians broke off in September in a dispute over Jewish settlement building on land Israel captured in a 1967 war which Palestinians want for a state. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Jon Hemming) (allyn.fisher.thomsonreuters.com; +972-2-6322202; Reuters Messaging:allyn.fisher.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))