The new Egypt

"The new attitude echoes through recent statements by Egyptian officials. Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby has called "shameful" Egypt's decision to close the Gaza border in 2007. Such a description would never have been publicly uttered under the Mubarak government. It is a sign the leadership is readjusting international policies to be more in line with public sentiment. The Rafah crossing is expected to reopen soon.   Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel remains unpopular in Egypt. Islamic ultraconservatives, whose voices have grown louder since the fall of Mubarak, have called for scrapping the treaty. That is unlikely given the shared economic interests between the two countries and the prospect that such a move could jeopardize the $1.2 billion Egypt receives in annual aid from the United States. But Israel has grown increasingly irritated by Cairo's actions. "We are witnessing a sequence of Egyptian moves that do not bode well, including comments that the Camp David agreements have run their course and public opinion polls showing support for undoing the peace treaty," Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio. "We must prepare for change in reality concerning Egypt and indeed the Middle East.""  Notice that Western journalists assume that only the fundamentalists in the Middle East are opposed to Israel.