Israel is relying on the Egyptian army to suppress Islamist militants in the Sinai and to ensure the country's stability after the dismissal of Mohamed Morsi as president, Israeli media and politicians said.

The Egyptian military overthrew Morsi on Wednesday after millions of protesters rallied to demand the Islamist leader quit for failing the 2011 revolution and bolstering his Islamist base at the expense of the rest of the country.

Ministers in the Israeli cabinet have so far stuck to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's order for silence on the subject.

But MP Tzahi Hanegbi, who is close to Netanyahu, welcomed the ouster of Morsi, Egypt's first democratically-elected president who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Israel's clear interest is for Egypt to remain stable, favourable to the West and the US, and that it does not let itself get carried away by a wave of religious extremism," said Hanegbi, former head of the Knesset (parliament) commission on defence and foreign affairs.

"Over Morsi's year in power, we noticed worrying developments, and that is why the return to prominence of the army and a secular authority capable of ensuring the stability of the country is good news for Israel," he added.

Israel's former ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, also stressed the positive role of the army in Egypt.
20130607
AFP