Katz: ‘Egypt outlawed Muslim Brotherhood’ while Israel weighs bringing its ‘sister movement’ into government

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned against bringing Ra’am into an Israeli governing coalition, invoking Egypt’s move to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood and alleging links between the movement, Hamas and efforts to destabilize the Egyptian government.

“Egypt has completed the process of outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood, yet here, there are efforts to bring them into the government,” Katz said. “I warn of the grave consequences this move would have for Israel’s security.”

Katz accused the Brotherhood of working with Hamas and a Brotherhood umbrella organization in Turkey to foment an uprising against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He also alleged that Khaled Anam, whom he identified as Hamas’s foreign intelligence chief, was promoting and financing those efforts in cooperation with elements of the Iranian regime.

The minister said the United States and several Arab countries had welcomed Egypt’s decision.

Turning to Israeli politics, Katz accused Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas of refusing to designate Hamas a terrorist organization. He described Ra’am as Hamas’s “sister movement” and alleged that Abbas’s ideology ultimately sought to replace Israel with an Islamic caliphate.

Katz argued that groups prepared to overthrow Egypt’s president could also carry out violence against Israel. He called for a broad national consensus against political cooperation with Arab Islamist and nationalist parties that, he alleged, maintain ties with Israel’s enemies and seek its destruction.