Israel Desperately Trying to Link US Aid to Egypt to Peace Talks

Israel Touts Egypt Junta as Part of 'Axis of Reason'

The Israeli government has made it clear they want to loudly champion the Egyptian coup, using their considerable lobbying capabilities to press Western nations to stay on the junta’s side.

Arguing that human rights in Egypt are beside the point is one thing, but trying to make an actual proactive case for the policy isn’t so easy. Desperate for some excuse, Israel is trying to make funding the junta about the Palestinian peace talks.

Officials have reportedly warned the US that if the elected government of Egypt returns to power it would “pose a risk to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” and that therefore the US needs to keep backing the junta in spite of ongoing massacres.

The best soundbite of the rather tortured effort came from an unnamed Israeli official who dubbed the junta and its backers the “axis of reason,” which needs to be supported at all costs.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.