CAIRO: As Egypt's new President Mohamed Morsi began his first full day as the country's first democratically elected leader, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to the new president urging him to maintain peace between the two countries. It comes as Israeli officials continue to spark fear over the Muslim Brotherhood leader and concerns over the future of the 1979 Camp David Accords that established peace between the two countries. Morsi has repeatedly said over the past week that he would uphold all treaties signed by Egypt, ostensibly including the treaty with Israel into the mix. But Israel is fearful that Morsi, who spoke openly about supporting Palestinian rights on Saturday, could end the peace deal with its neighbor. The letter, first reported by the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz on Sunday morning, “stressed Israel's desire to continue cooperation and to strengthen the peace," an Israeli source said on condition of anonymity. The letter was sent “in the last few days," the source added, with Haaretz reporting that it was delivered to Morsi via the Israeli embassy in Cairo. The newspaper said the message “congratulated Morsi on his election, offered to cooperate with the new government in Cairo and expressed … hope that both parties will observe the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty." Netanyahu “emphasized that honoring the agreement is in the interest of both countries," the newspaper added, saying the Israeli premier had also wished Morsi good luck in his new role. Haaretz said Israeli officials, after consulting with Washington, had decided to put off attempts to organize a phone call between Morsi and Netanyahu, but said the Israeli leader had dispatched an envoy for meetings with Egyptian security officials. Netanyahu's letter repeated much of the content of the statement he made publicly after Morsi was officially declared the winner of Egypt's first post-uprising presidential election. “Israel values the democratic process in Egypt and respects the results of the presidential election," he said in a statement at the time. “Israel hopes to continue cooperation with the Egyptian government on the basis of the peace treaty," which the two countries inked in 1979.
