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Wed, March 09, 2011 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Egyptian foreign minister Nabil El-Arabi. (Source: al-arabiya)

Hamas Applauds anti-Israel Position of the New Egyptian Foreign Minister

Nabil Abdullah el-Arabi, the new Egyptian foreign minister [appointed to this post on 6 March 2011], spoke to the media, among other things, for the first time about the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. An article in the March 6 edition of Al-Shuruq hinted that under certain conditions Egypt would be able to revoke its peace treaty with Israel. On another occasion he claimed, according to the Palestinian media, that the peace between Israel and Egypt had harmed the Palestinian cause. He also said that Egypt’s “blockade” of the Gaza Strip violated international law (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, March 7, 2011).

Hamas applauded Nabil al-Arabi’s statements. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called his positions “honorable” and said he hoped they would be implemented in practice during the foreign minister’s term (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, March 7, 2011).

Nabil el-Arabi is a former judge in the Judicial Tribunal of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries and former United Nations ambassador. He was also a judge at the International Court of Justice until February 2006 and served as a counsel of the Sudanese government in the “Abyei Boundary” Arbitration between the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Revolutionary Movement.

El-arabi was one of about 30 high-profile Egyptians acting as liasion between the protesters and the government, and pressing for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.

At a democracy forum on 25 February 2011, he said the Egyptian foreign policy should be based on Egypt’s interests, including “holding Israel accountable when it does not respect its obligations.”