Muslim Brotherhood gives assurances on treaty

The Muslim Brotherhood assured the United States it would not break Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, according to the State Department.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Islamist political party had offered assurances it would not break Egypt’s 1979 accord with Israel, despite statements to the contrary by a party leader.

The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s departure from power has raised concerns that political reform in the Arab world’s most populous country could lead to the emergence of a hostile regime that would depart from its historic peace accord with the Jewish state.

In an interview published Jan. 1, Rashad Bayoumi, the party’s deputy leader, said the group will not recognize Israel “under any circumstance.”

Asked about the comment, Nuland said Bayoumi was but one member of the Muslim Brotherhood and that the party would be judged by what it does. — jta