{{Amid concerns about its decades-long peace treaty with Israel, a top Egyptian cabinet official said on Thursday that the pact was \u201cnot at all\u201d in jeopardy.}}<\/p>\n
Egypt yesterday recalled its ambassador to Israel in response to Israel\u2019s targeted killing of a Hamas military commander in Gaza \u2013 an attack that President Mohamed Morsy called an \u201cunacceptable\u201d aggression.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are abiding by our legal obligations but we are active to help establishing real peace in the area,\u201d Mohamed Refa’a al-Tahtawi, the chief of the Egyptian presidential cabinet said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot be indifferent human sufferings,\u201d he said. \u201cRespecting a peace treaty does not mean to stay idle or indifferent to what is going on along our borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tahtawi will accompany Egypt\u2019s prime minister, Hesham Kandil, on a trip to Gaza on Friday. He said he hoped that, if nothing else, the visit would \u201cstop the escalation at least for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel and Hamas in Gaza have exchanged rocket fire for the past several days, with casualties on both sides.<\/p>\n
Responding to criticism over the Gaza strike, Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor told Gorani that Israel made the right decision in killing the Hamas commander, Ahmed al-Jabari.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world is a better and a safer place without him running around,\u201d Prosor said, \u201cand we will be able to achieve better understanding between people when these people are out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tahtawi called the Israel\u2019s attack a \u201cmiscalculation,\u201d and told Gorani that he said as much to the Israeli government.<\/p>\n
\u201cI warned our Israeli partners that if [they] continue along the path of escalation and violence this would backfire and they would be the first losers,\u201d Tahtawi said.<\/p>\n
Israel has no interest in escalation, Prosor told Gorani, but would not stand for living under constant threat from Hamas. Prosor said he helped oversee Israel’s leaving Gaza in 2005 and hoped he would never have to look back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that if rockets fall on your head, you are allowed to defend yourself,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is what Israel is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egypt has positioned itself as a mediator of the conflict, and Tahtawi said his government was working with both Israel and Hamas to prevent escalation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is in the interest of everybody to restore just peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Prosor, while expressing a desire for peace, was resolute in his view of the Gaza\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d he said, \u201cyou won\u2019t be able to achieve peace if you have terrorists like Hamas ruling the game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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