It seems that the editor in chief of the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Akiva Eldar, found himself in a critical situation last week when he came to Cairo to understand the Egyptians' point of view concerning the recent political developments. Mr. Eldar had to play the role of the devil's advocate when he was confronted with a violent attack on Israel's recent policies: Olmert's backtrack on the truce, the dismissal and return of Major General Amos Gilad, and the choice of Netanyahu and Lieberman to form the next Israeli government. Perhaps for this reason, Mr. Eldar chose a title with literary and political significance for his article in yesterday's Haaretz: "Think like an Egyptian". Eldar started his article by quoting a senior Egyptian official in the Israeli embassy in Cairo as saying: "We can understand that you tell us one thing one day and the next day you say the opposite," the Egyptian official began, moving my glass of water next to his. "But maybe you can explain to me," he continued, returning the glass to its place, "why just a few hours later you change your minds yet again, only to go back to the original starting point." His questions referred to the cabinet decision to link an Israel-Hamas truce agreement, courtesy of President Hosni Mubarak, to the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, courtesy of Khaled Meshal, Hamas' political leader in Damascus. Eldar goes on to say: "I volunteered the theory that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert got cold feet when he looked at the list of killers he is expected to free in exchange for Shalit. The man shook his head vigorously. 'I read in your newspapers that there is disagreement over four or 20 serious prisoners, and I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I'm telling you that up until now we have not received any list of prisoners from you.' Nor was he swayed by the theory that Olmert is fearful of criticism from Likud. The understanding in Cairo is that prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to quietly accept the Shalit deal. "The Giladayn affair ("the two Gilads," in the Arabic dual form, referring to Gilad Shalit as well as the recent dismissal of defense official Amos Gilad from the post of intermediary in the talks between Egypt, Israel and Hamas) took Cairo by surprise. When a senior Israeli official publicly proclaims that Israel's prime minister is treating Egypt's leaders with contempt, their regime, desperately clinging - with its last remaining strength - to the title 'leader of the Arab world', has trouble continuing with business as usual. "During Operation Cast Lead, even in the shadow of Al Jazeera's dramatic reports from Gaza's hospitals, the diplomatic coordination between the two countries was exemplary. The official protests transmitted via Ambassador Shalom Cohen at the Egyptian foreign ministry were accompanied by friendly winks. But since Olmert decided to link Shalit to the truce, diplomatic ties have chilled. "Hamas emerges as the big winner in this crisis between Israel and Egypt. It is ready at any time to discuss Shalit's release and a renewal of the truce. Israel is the one insisting on linking the two. "On Sunday evening, at the home of Shani Cooper, the spokeswoman of Israel's Embassy in Egypt, I met with a forum of local editors and analysts seeking to understand the election results in Israel. The forum recently resumed its activity after a 10-year hiatus. A few of its members belong to a small group of journalists who insist on maintaining contact with Israelis, and even show up for events at the ambassador's residence. A few of them speak Hebrew and read Israeli Web sites regularly. Others keep their distance, but envy Israel its freedom of expression, and find themselves drawn to it for its special position in both the world and the region. "They find it hard to understand the Israeli public's rightward drift, and Avigdor Lieberman's popularity in particular. That Israelis should prefer opponents of the peace process, a tendency that began with Anwar Sadat's trip to Jerusalem, offends them. Some, especially those that have visited Israel, hoped the Jewish state would adopt the Arab peace initiative. Others rooted for the moderates to prevail, in the hope that Egypt would continue to benefit from its relations with the world's strongest small nation. "The meeting with the journalists was interrupted by a string of phone calls and pager messages about the terror attack at a cafe in the heart of a busy Cairo market. "Two months from now, Ambassador Shalom Cohen will finish up four years of service here and head home. Deputy Ambassador Nissan Amdor is also due to complete his stint in the next few months. He sat in a crowded cafe on the banks of the Nile, alongside Dr. Hala Mustafa, editor of Democracy Magazine, which belongs to the Al-Ahram group. The woman in the tailored pantsuit stood out among all the other women in the cafe, who were covered by traditional headscarves. "Mustafa says she's eager to visit Israel, but that her government does not view such visits kindly and she is afraid that her livelihood could be adversely affected. She had no problem with me quoting her harsh criticism of the regime, though. "She gave me a few editions of her magazine. One featured an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustur, in which Mustafa accuses the Egyptian government of playing a double game: with one hand Cairo embraces Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas), declaring him the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and with the other it caresses Hamas. "I also met Geoffrey Aronson, director of the Foundation for Middle East Peace in Washington, after he had met with several members of the political and defense establishment in Cairo. He was one of the people behind the indirect Swiss channel that brought Israelis together with a Syrian emissary, and he also maintains open channels with Hamas. Aronson believes that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza at the end of January's campaign there, which allowed Hamas to maintain its rule there and declare victory, has turn Egypt into the war's big loser. Every day the crossings between Gaza and Israel remain closed, the pressure grows on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing and close the tunnels used for smuggling. "After the border fence was breached in the Rafah area last year, Mubarak instructed his intelligence chief Omar Suleiman that this was the first and last time such a thing could be allowed to happen. The opening of the crossings on the Israeli side would enable Egypt to keep the Rafah and its tunnels sealed. Aronson says that the suggestion that foreign troops might be stationed on Egyptian soil to secure the crossings, something that would effectively be a jab at Egypt's sovereignty, makes the Egyptians very uneasy. "At the airport, before the especially thorough security check at the gate for the El Al flight, following the terror attack in Cairo, an Egyptian friend hugged me and whispered, 'You should know that we're in for a tough time ahead. Take care of yourself."
