Looking back from 2050, what should unfold from this point onwards for the region... The current GDP of the following areas in the Middle East is $1.6 trillion - The Noble Sanctuary/Haram al Sharif; Jerusalem; Judea and Samaria/The West Bank; The State of Israel; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria; Saudi Arabia; Gaza and Egypt. This can easily grow by more than 5% p.a. from 2015 onwards if co-operation prevails. The jigsaw puzzle that is the Middle East will not form into its correct alignment if all of the pieces are not recognised and valued. The "Win-Win" idea must take root in the minds of the people and the leaders. In a very interconnected world what happens in one place can affect what happens in another place very quickly. Which paradigm should prevail for the Middle East ? Vision, courage and trust building or myopia, cowardice and betrayal of trust. Prayers for Egypt in the coming days.

They will face some critical options soon. It is in Isaiah 19. If they come to God and end their hatred of the Jews they will be blessed and spared. They have to build an altar to God (meaning not so clear right now, soon it will be)then they are referred to as My people Egypt. God refers to them as His people. This will come at the price of their pride and primal hatred of the Jewish people. Once they swallow their pride and make real peace with us, God will bless them. If they choose to remain stubborn and hateful they will suffer tremendously. Either way we have nothing to worry about when it comes to them. It is all in God's hands right now.

Some 34 years ago, Israel opened their hands to Egypt. But even after Israel handed back what it'd won in two defensive wars - for what Sadat himself termed "a piece of paper" - Egypt turned its back on Israel. Even today, contacts are slammed as "normalization". Yes, Israel could help Egypt develop its economy, especially with Israel's strengths in agriculture and water technology. But Egypt isn't interested. Israel has no choice but to remain vigilant and keep that southern border secure.

Are you Mr. Haber? Except criticizing the government, promoting appeasing politics and writing horror stories in this newspaper Mr. Haber hasn't come up with ONE idea or solution ever. Nobody knows what the future will bring and the only 'idea welcomed by the Arab world is for the Israeli's collectively drowning themselves in the Mediterranean. Reading Mr. Haber's post regularly and understanding the appeaser he is, he probably agree's.

that the message Eytan Haber was about to convey to us was: "Israel must pull down its collective trousers, once again, to appease the arabs". Ok, we cede land,again more land as the previous occasions. Will the hunger in the arab world disappear because Israel made another concession, or will the arab wombs produce any less children which is the real cause of THEIR hunger? Will the muhammadan clerics spew less venom in our direction from their minarets? Can the arab muhammadan dictators find another external ennemy to replace the "sons of pigs and apes" in order to retain the power while deflecting the wrath of illiterate and savage masses? If the answer to all those questions is "NO" then another concession will have a single effect for the arabs: the weakening of the State of Israel both physically and spiritually and a step closer to our total destruction. The likes of Haber in our midst is sad to say the least.

;;;if Egyptians are so hungry that's a proof that Egypt as a state failed and that state cannot make war.

firstly there are 85 million not 100 million egyptians.Secondly, israel will defend itself against anyone. It is not looking for trouble but will fight any foe if necessary. Haber is suggesting that israel should make any deal to avoid big bad egypt. This is the thinnking that got many jews to submit. haber is an old jew who submits and he does great harm to israel going forward. He undermines his spirit.

... an unlimited supply of condoms and other forms of birth control! Only when China got control of its exploding population via its "one child" policy did it succeed in becoming the economic powerhouse it is today... Until Egypt comes to grips with its population crisis, it will remain an economic basket-case or worse...

This Loser has been WRONG on every prediction he's ever given. Pro-oslo, pro-itnatkut his moves have all been proven wrong. This drek should be made to live in Sderot the last 13 years in order to enjoy the policies he has backed. Egypt has no military option against Israel. This loser predicts it!!

Eitan Haber is right but that is not the whole story. The danger for Israel is not only the 100 million hungry Egyptians but also the other 100 million Arabs surrounding Israel from every corner. And don’t forget Iran which population may double in 10 years. It is also not about food and hunger, it is about ideology. Israel with all its military power, technology and atom bombs can no longer defend itself. You may be able to kill 100 million but in the process you will cease to exist. The only guarantee for the continuous existence of Israel is peace with the Arabs and Palestinians. Only then Israel will become a part of the Middle East allowing it to participate in the social, economic and technology development of its neighbors. This is where Israel can contribute to eliminate ignorance, hunger and misery which are presently found in every Arab country. And this is how it will find its security.

The only way to gain a long standing peace with the arab states is when they get democratic and seculare. If/When that´ll come true there´ll be the kind of stability that´ll last. Stability under dictatorship is an illusion that won´t last because stability can then change into unstability with a new dictator. That´s why Israel ought to support democratic movements even to the price of a temporarily unstable enviroment around its borders.

The only reason Israel need fear events in Egypt is because we foolishly cede Sinai. Ultimately, Israel is going to have to admit this was a huge mistake, like all Israeli retreats, and retake the Sinai forever.

Also, unrest in Europe will start, initiated by the evil religion, just like in the arabs state today. Islamic followers have to realize their religion/demagogy is not eatable for the rest of the world. Most non-islamic-believers would say it is a recipy in un-humanity, death and violence.

Far better to turn Sinai into a palestinian state and then we could reclaim Gaza, Judea and Samaria . . .

Don't worry, Israel's Nucs will keep them in-line!

He sees that the Egyptians have the power to overthrow Morsi, so certainly they can easily overthrow Israel. He is hiding somewhere behind someone.

One of the most difficult aspects of intelligent thinking is to be and remain aware of events and circumstances as they develop through time. The security situation of Israel with respect to Egypt and its other neighboring dysfunctional societies is one of certain, though gradual decay. It is realistic and necessary for Israel to prepare itself for serious military conflict. However it would be worthwhile and wise to try to find the ways and means to help reduce their problems. The investment for this would be cheaper, by far than the costs to be borne by conflict. How this can be implemented is beyond my competence, but I do think it is absolutely required for Israel's survival.

Mr. Haber seems to be betting all his chips on the scenario where all 100 million Egyptians will be poor, hungry and ready to kill for a pita; I beg to differ. Like with any other major change, the Egyptian revolution is going through the painful stage right now. While no one can predict the outcome of this suffering, the Egyptian people are showing that they want to dictate their own future, hopefully a secular one. Of course this Israeli government, as well as any future government, has to ensure Israel's safety and strive for peace with the neighbors: that's a no brainer. This article seems like a poor attempt by Mr. Haber to play the role of Joseph and interpret a dream the former had. Except that Israel, even with the help of the US and the EU, could never produce and store enough food to feed 100 million people. Perhaps a better plan would be to participate with Egypt's government, regardless who is in power, to strengthen Egyptian economy through trade and cultural exchanges.

Suez and the natural resources of Sinai should belong to Israel.

Of course, from a Western perspective your article makes sense, but the reality is that projecting Western sensibilities on the Arab nation(s) is exacdtly why we keep failing in changing the dynamics of the West Vs. East. We need to respecdt the differences and realize that a liberal democracy is not a concept that will ever take root in the Arab world, nor will feeding them make them like us.

Have you any idea what you are talking about. If the Arabs loose 100 millions in the next war, and it may be many more, if all the unconventional weapons are unleashed, they will also cease to exist. Only insane may wish for this; but to constantly demand that Israel do this and do more of this, while never asking anything from the Arabs is a sure way to bring this catastrophic outcome. litvac120

and this is the crux of the issue. israel extended their hand in peace and wanted cooperation with egypt, for example, but the top brass always shunned israel and the peace resulted as one between the ruling class rather than the people of both countries, israel and egypt. peace should have been nurtured by mubarak between the people in egypt towards the jews and israelis. this was not done and so, the peace was always a cold one. peace can exist only between people, not between leaders.

We have a signed, ironclad peace treaty signed in Washington. The treaty is backed by the United States. War with Egypt is impossible. If the above is not true, how can we enter peace negotiations with the arabs in Judea and Samaria, or Syria?

Your reasoning is exactly why we should have never signed the Camp David Accords. We would have had Oil fields plus so much more land and a much greater BUFFER between us and the Egyptians. Indeed the Lubavitcher Rebbe the visionary that he was saw all this coming and screamed against the fatal accords. But in current events I am, not pessimistic as Haber is and indeed I see all this G-D's hand as a preparation to the coming of Moshiach.

Israel has always been willing to share development technology as a means of creating good will. It has done that in Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. But that still requires a willingness and an ability to receive the help. Nothing indicates that Egypt, Syria or the rest of the Arab Islamic world is ready in this way. As with any responsibility, all one can do is the best with the options available. And when that work is done, it is then better to do nothing than to do things that could be counterproductive, just to relieve anxiety.

Egypt will never again attack Israel. Egyptians know that one atomic bomb dropped on the Aswan High Dam will cause the extinction of the entire country. As someone once cleverly put it, "The Egyptians used to threaten to drive the Jews into the sea...until they realized the Jews could drive the sea into Egypt." I certainly hope it never comes to that.