Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is currently determining whether to amend Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel by reintroducing full Egyptian sovereignty and control over the Sinai peninsula, Morsi’s legal adviser told Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm on Monday.
The Camp David Accords sets standards and limits for Egypt’s military and security presence in the Sinai. Calls to amend – and even void – the treaty have intensified since the downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak, and members of the Morsi-affiliated Muslim Brotherhood have gone on record supporting this position. But last week’s Sinai border terror attack that left 16 Egyptian officers dead offered another pretext to renew the calls. Still, Mohamed Gadallah refused to elaborate on the statement when asked. Morsi has pledged in public comments to honor all of Egypt’s international treaties, without specifically naming the Camp David Accords .
Addressing Morsi’s decision on Sunday to dismiss Egyptian military chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and cancel a constitutional supplement that gave the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) significant oversight in the forming of a constitution, Gadallah said there was no friction between the President and the military, but that “the military council, which reports to the president, should not have legislative powers.”
Bahey el-din Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, told Al-Masri Al-Youm that Morsi’s moves should not be underestimated: “This means that now the [Muslim] Brothers have all the powers, whether inside the existing Constituent Assembly or in any future one.”
Gadallah also stated that the decision to dissolve Egyptian parliament in June would not be reviewed, and that Morsi would call for Parliamentary elections after a new constitution is instituted.
In related news, the Palestinian News Agency WAFA reported on Tuesday that Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, permitting incoming and outgoing traffic.