Mohamed Basiouni, former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, has defended Hosni Mubarak ‎against accusations that the ousted former president adopted policies that served ‎Israel’s interests during his lengthy tenure.‎ 

‎“He did not make concessions for Israel,” Basiouni — who served as Egypt’s ambassador to ‎Israel for 20 consecutive years — told Asharq Alawsat newspaper. “All he did was [aimed at] preserving peace.‎"

‎“He abided by the peace treaty, and for the record, I haven’t seen any concessions from ‎him for Israel ... I am not being a hypocrite; there is no room for hypocrisy now.”‎

Egypt’s bilateral relations with Israel have been in the air since the overthrow ‎of Mubarak, who was backed by the Israeli government during the January 25 Revolution.‎

A recent poll conducted by Pew Research Centre showed that 54 per cent of the Egyptian ‎population wants to see the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel terminated.‎

‎Some presidential hopefuls criticise the Camp David Accords to win public support, ‎Basiouni believes. “Egyptian public opinion feels satisfied whenever the Israel issue is brought into ‎discussion. Therefore, candidates are playing that card, but the situation must be ‎addressed more seriously,” he said. ‎

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who is running in this year’s presidential ‎elections, is one of those who have disparaged the peace treaty.