After the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, there was serious concern in Israel and the U.S. about whether Egypt’s alliance with the Jewish state would survive. Although there was indeed some initial distancing between the two countries, especially during the time the Muslim Brotherhood was ensconced in Cairo, ties now seem to be stronger than ever. Mohamed Soliman, however, points to the alliance’s Achilles heel (free registration required):

However open the [current government under President Sisi] might be to a better relationship with Israel, the Egyptian public is still very wary. . . . [R]ecent polling . . . indicates that most of the Egyptian public is still hostile [toward the Jewish state]. Israel received an 88-percent disapproval rating, making it the most disliked country in the survey.

As Sisi focuses Cairo’s attention on the fight against political Islam, there is reason to believe that Israel will have a partner in Egypt for the foreseeable future. But the state of Egyptian-Israeli relations remains a work in progress in the court of public opinion. The Egyptian-Israel relationship is growing as military cooperation has extended into a larger political and diplomatic alliance. Egypt’s transfer of two Red Sea islands [to the Saudis] will help Israel open itself to its undeclared ally in Saudi Arabia. Sisi perceives Israel as a strong ally in his war against the Islamist organizations in the Sinai. Now it up to the Egyptian public to determine that this partnership is a good one, too.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.