Cairo: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, expected to dominate the new parliament, will not act single-handedly on potential review of the country's peace treaty with Israel, a senior official in the influential group said Saturday.
"A decision on such a national issue will be taken jointly between the parliament, the president of the country and the government," Essam Al Erian told Gulf News.
His remarks came days after media reports that the Muslim Brotherhood was in contacts with the US to safeguard the agreement signed in 1979 by Egypt and Israel.
"We have no contacts with anyone about reaching understandings on this treaty," Al Erian said.
"A general rule is that treaties are subjected to re-evaluation after the passage of time to see how they serve national interests and to assess how the signatories honour their obligations," he added.
In August, Egyptian-Israeli relations suffered their worst crisis since former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was deposed in a popular revolt six months earlier.
In September, angry Egyptians stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo to protest Israel's killing of five Egyptian soldiers on the border.
"Everyone knows which side that does not honour its commitments in the peace treaty. However, it should be clear that the Muslim Brotherhood does not carry a message of war or seeks to scare anyone," said Al Erian.
Israeli officials have recently expressed worries over the lead taken by the Islamists in the early round of Egypt's parliamentary polls.
"Reviewing the treaty is not a top priority on our agenda," said al-Erian. "We have other more persistent priorities such as providing jobs to Egyptians and improving their living conditions."
