Leaked Israeli Documents Reveal 1987 Crisis That Threatened Egypt-Israel Relations

Leaked secret documents from 1987 show President Hosni Mubarak threatened to recall Egypt's ambassador over Israeli actions in the occupied territories, with mediation by an Arab Knesset member.

• The Israeli newspaper Maariv published the leaked documents, which include minutes of a secret meeting between Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Knesset member Abd al-Wahhab Darawshe in December 1987.
• According to the documents, Mubarak told Darawshe during a Cairo meeting that continued Israeli deportations and security measures could force Egypt to escalate diplomatic steps, including recalling its ambassador.
• Darawshe then informed Shamir that Mubarak faced pressure from domestic opposition and parliament, and that a withdrawal of the ambassador could undermine the peace treaty.
• Shamir acknowledged Mubarak's internal pressures but said Egyptian society had not fully accepted peace, and he opposed a role for the Palestine Liberation Organization in any settlement.