TEL AVIV - Defence Minister Ehud Barak played down on Monday Israeli fears that political change in Egypt might ultimately lead to Islamist control of the first Arab country to have made peace with Israel. "I see no Khomeini-type movement in Egypt," Barak said in an Israel Radio interview, referring to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. In a speech three weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Islamists could use the turmoil in Egypt to gain power. Those remarks drew criticism from some Israeli commentators who charged he was out of pace with world support for moves toward democracy in Egypt and other Arab countries. Barak said the political upheaval in Egypt, where Israel's long-time ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted as president, held no immediate threat for the Jewish state. Both countries signed a peace treaty in 1979. "I hope and believe they (Egyptians) navigate correctly towards reform (and) a more open society, while maintaining the delicate balance and preventing the country from falling into the hands of Muslim movements," Barak said. "The strength of Egypt's army and the country's dependence on the world financially give Egypt a chance to act in a balanced way," he said. Barak, who heads the small Atzmaut faction in the right-leaning governing coalition, is widely considered to be an influential member of Netanyahu's inner circle. In the interview, Barak held open the prospect of peace moves with Syria. He also said Israel must continue to pursue peace talks with the Palestinians, negotiations now frozen over Israeli settlement building on land they seek for a state. "The Syrians are signalling in more ways than one that they want to reach an agreement," Barak said without elaborating. "I think we need to examine every possibility. If the Syrian president is serious, he will find a partner in us." As prime minister from 1999 to 2001, Barak held US-sponsored negotiations with Syria that collapsed over the future of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in a 1967 Middle East war.
