"The wave of upheavals washing through the Middle East has not skipped Israeli businesses in the Arab world: The Delta factory in Cairo was shut down for several days; Israeli businesspeople leftEgypt, Tunisia and Bahrain along with other foreigners and some are afraid to go back; Egyptian gas flow to Israel was halted and the senior Egyptian partner in the international company marketing the gas fled the country.
What will be the revolutions' long-term effect? The Israeli defense establishment is suspicious: Military officials and commentators fear that free elections will strengthen radical Islamic parties, which will sever ties with Israel.
In the business community, on the other hand, some are watching the events optimistically, with the belief that the upheavals will lead to a "warm" peace of business cooperation.
'Egypt factory crucial'
Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the United States signed a special free trade agreement (Qualifying Industrial Zones), which is basically aimed at "bribing" the Egyptians and Jordanians to tighten their ties with Israel."
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