23 Nov 2021; MEMO: Egypt and Israel backed the military coup carried out on 25 October by army chief Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, Foreign Minister Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi revealed yesterday.
In a discussion with the Atlantic Council, Al-Mahdi said Egypt refrained from expressing publicly its support for the coup while refusing to condemn it when "it was pressed by the US to do so."
Regarding Israel's role, she cited the US Special Envoy for Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman's request to Israel's mediation in order to sit with Al Burhan.
She said that Feltman travelled to Israel and asked for the Israelis to mediate for him to meet the head of the military coup.
The Foreign Minister also revealed that Al-Burhan attempted to woe Israel in order to get its support, pointing out that he told Israeli officials that his coup is pro-Israel.
Al-Mahdi was among 11 ministers ousted by Al-Burhan following the coup. She filed a written resignation letter to the head of the transitional government, Abdullah Hamdok, who reached a deal to be reinstated as a prime minister by Al-Burhan on Sunday. The ministers strongly condemned the deal.
Meanwhile, Al-Burhan said that the deal reached with Hamdok, "paves the way for a transitional period with certain goals that includes dealing with security and livelihood issues."
He also said that the deal aims to "afford the demands for peace and preparations for free and transparent elections."
