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Expert: Mubarak fall 'trouble' for Israel

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, pictured in Washington during a meeting with President Barack Obama Aug. 18, 2009.UPI/Dennis Brack/Pool
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, pictured in Washington during a meeting with President Barack Obama Aug. 18, 2009.UPI/Dennis Brack/Pool | License Photo

JERUSALEM, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A former Israeli ambassador to Egypt said Friday the departure of President Hosni Mubarak could be "big trouble" for both countries.

During his 30 years of rule, Mubarak followed Anwar Sadat's policy of maintaining normal diplomatic relations with Israel, even if the relationship was seldom a warm one.

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Zvi Mazel, who served as ambassador to Cairo from 1996 to 2001, told Ynetnews the Middle East could become less "manageable." He said no one knows whether the upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt will spread.

"Egypt has completely lost its status in the area, while Turkey and Iran are on the way up. It's a different world," he said. "As long as we had Mubarak, there was no void in our relations with the region. Now we're in big trouble."

Mazel, a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, said the Egyptian army, now temporarily running the country, is not friendly to the Muslim Brotherhood. But he said the Brotherhood is more organized than other opposition groups.

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