[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

"Egypt has sent a strong message to Israel saying it won’t allow an
operation to take place.."

Precedent set?

#1. Does Egypt now have the ability to veto Israeli operations?

#2. If the military regime now ruling Egypt is now apparently on record for
stopping a major Israeli operation doesn't this create a dilemma for any
future Egyptian regime that in the event of a major Israeli operation that
the Egyptian "street" will assume that Egypt gave its silent approval for
the operation. [Stay tuned for this "dilemma" to be cited by Israeli
officials in the future to explain why the Jewish State's hands are tied.]

Ambassador: Israeli-Egyptian relations still tense
Published Wednesday 24/08/2011 (updated) 25/08/2011 15:59

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Yasser Othman, the Egyptian ambassador to the
Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, said Wednesday that there is still
tension in Egyptian-Israeli relations after the killing of five Egyptian
soldiers last week.

“We want a clear, strong apology and a pledge to not to repeat such acts in
the future,” he said.

It was not enough that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President
Shimon Peres expressed regret for the incident, Egypt's cabinet said.

The Eilat attacks had nothing to do with Egypt, Othman said, and
investigations are ongoing on both sides.

Egypt had "forbidden" Israel from launching a large-scale operation in the
Gaza Strip, he added.

“The Egyptian side has felt after the Eilat operation that Israel intends to
[get] revenge,” so Egypt has sent a strong message to Israel saying it won’t
allow an operation to take place.

Israel did not launch a large-scale operation because they fear the Egyptian
people’s reaction, Othman added.

His remarks echoed reports in the Israeli media that Egyptian officials had
conveyed messages to Israel that a large-scale military operation could lead
Cairo to the point of suspending relations.

In talks held this week between a senior Egyptian official and a very
high-placed official in Jerusalem, the latter told him: “We stopped the
escalation in Gaza because of you,” according to the report in Maariv.

This was preceded by talks held between Defense Minister Ehud Barak with
Gen. Hussein Tantawi and intelligence chief Murad Muwafi, who conveyed
messages in a similar vein, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian-brokered halt to recent violence appeared to be
holding despite sporadic rocket fire from Gaza and an airstrike that killed
a member of Islamic Jihad's military wing late Tuesday.

The truce was announced Sunday evening following four days of violence
sparked by a series of shooting ambushes near Eilat in southern Israel on
Thursday in which eight Israelis died.

Israel launched a series of airstrikes in the aftermath of Thursday's
attack, killing 15 Palestinians and injuring more than 50. Among those
killed was Popular Resistance Committees chief Kamal Al-Nayrab.

Also Wednesday, Israel's army chief Benny Gantz ordered increased measures
along the border with Egypt due to intelligence about new attacks being
planned, according to a report in Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Armed groups
are planning attacks similar to the ones last Thursday, the report said.

The new defensive measures include putting in place additional means of
electronic and visual intelligence gathering as well bolstering navy
capabilities in the south, according to the report.