Experts give legal opinions on Camp David Accords

The signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in Washington Cairo – Iman Yehya Egyptian experts in international law, Israeli relations and international relations believe that ending or cancelling out the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty would be illegal under international law, although it may be possible to amend some of the treaty’s conditions if both parties agree. It would be illegal to make fundamental changes to the agreement.
The experts told Arabstoday that relations between the two countries will not return to how they were under Mubarak, particularly following the Israeli killing of two Egyptian soldiers on the border.
The experts say that “there’s a constant mix between political and military issues, which politicians see as bad for their countries, while military personnel see as good.”
A number of presidential candidates and political activists have changes to the treaty following the death of the soldiers.
The interim Egyptian leader, Assam Sharaf, last week said that the agreement was “not set in stone.”
Dr. Ayman Salameh, a Professor of International Law at the University of Cairo, stressed the importance in differentiating between the Camp David agreement which was signed in 1978 in the USA, and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty which was signed in 1979 in Washington.
He clarifies that reform must be spoken in regards to the treaty and not the agreement leading up to it.
He added that international law cannot change those treaties or agreements as they call for peace, stability and the no-return to war. They should only be reformed if a fundamental change has taken place.
Salameh confirmed that Egypt can ask for the treaty to be reformed because of the incident in the Sinai, as the event was beyond Egypt’s control.
Dr. Imad Jad agreed with Salameh. He is an expert in Israeli relations and said that some clauses in the treaty can be changed and Israel’s government would be unlikely to object as long as elections have taken place and the transitional period has finished.
Israel will want to receive guarantees from Egypt’s new government.
Jad told Arabstoday that it seemed clear to Israel that the relations between the two countries will not return to how they once worse, so they will have restore some of the terminology and concepts that were used before the treaty during the Cold War.
Jad explained that Israel will not agree to change the clause permitting the stationing of Israeli forces along the border from the Mediterranean Sea to Eilat, and Taba in the south until the the Red Sea.
In a complete contradiction with Salameh and Jad, Dr. Jihad Oudeh, Professor of Political Sciences at Hilwan University expressed his concern about the current controversy and the talk of changing the peace treaty.
He thinks that the treaty cannot be changed unless both parties agree.
A Member of the Political Committee of the dissolved National Democratic Party also told Arabstoday that whatever is reformed will be done so according to a report by the two countries’ joint Military Committee, which releases a confidential report every 6 months on how committed each party is to the treaty’s terms.