By Matt Hill

On Friday, the UK followed the lead of Mubarak’s former ally the US, in withdrawing its support only when it became clear it was backing the wrong camel. Leaders and opinion-makers in Israel were even less enthusiastic about the protests: freedom and democracy are all well and good, they seemed to say, so long as they don’t expect to move in next door.

Originally published by Liberal Conspiracy

Israelis fear that a new, populist Egyptian government will threaten the two countries’ 1978 peace agreement, the soundest plank in Israel’s fragile neighbourly relations. That is not an ureasonable concern: four wars since 1948 exacted a terrible price on both sides, and thanks to $25 billion of US military aid, Egypt boasts a powerful army.

Its next rulers are unlikely to risk provoking the superpower to the east into full-scale conflict. But free elections would surely produce a government less cordial to Israel’s interests than Mubarak’s, whose collusion in the blockade of Gaza most Egyptians reviled.

If Israel concludes that its long-term security is best assured by nurturing its ‘cold peace’ with Arab regimes who pay lip service to Palestinian rights while suppressing dissent, it will have learnt precisely the wrong lesson from the ‘Arab spring’.

That’s why the revival of the peace process is more urgent than ever in the wake of Mubarak’s departure. Israel has never had a more willing partner on the Palestinian side, as leaked documents detailing peace negotiations show.

When Menachem Begin and Anwar El Sadat signed the Camp David Accords in 1978, leading to peace between the two nations, Israel promised withdrawal from the occupied territories and full independence for the Palestinians within five years. 33 years and many failed negotiations later, numbers of Israeli settlers in the West Bank have swelled from 10,000 to over 300,000. But the scale of the challenge makes it no less crucial.

80 million Egyptians have just roared onto the world stage, and the Middle East will never be the same. It’s about time Israel started making some real friends.

* * * * * * * * *

By Ranjit Sidhu

Wikileaks confirmed what was an open secret: individuals from Saudi Arabia are responsible for the majority of funding for the Sunni terrorist organisations in the region, including Al Qaeda.

However, there was an insight into the Saudi government’s approach when it is alleged on the 29th of January that the Saudi King Abdullah told President Obama that they would bankroll Mubarak’s Egypt if the US withdrew its aid program despite the public uprising.

What must be recognised is that the Saudi Arabian government is fanatical in spreading it’s branch of Islam at the expense of all others; Wahhabism, which is considered extremist by most Sunni and Shia muslims.

It is not afraid to throw money to those governments who follow its lead donating, $49 billion by 2006. We can be sure that when the financial problems appear in Egypt, Saudi Arabia will be there ready to use its cheque book to spread it brand of religious extremism.

Unfortunately, it would be highly unlikely that the democratic movement in the middle east could effect the totalitarianism of the Saudi government itself (we can hope!). That we have been supportive of such a regime is a shame that we in the west have to carry and history will judge us on.

But, we are duty bound to try to prevent this most corrosive of countries interfering with the likes of Tunisia and Egypt.

Like the oil that has made us kowtow to this monarchy, it will try to seep its influence through any cracks appearing in these fledgling democracies - we need to stand guard to mop it up before it poisons the burgeoning democracy that is arising in the middle east.