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Daybreak: Egypt Prompts Israeli Retreat

Plus violence continues, Mubarak’s supporters, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
February 03, 2011
The Egyptian protests, day 10.(Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)
The Egyptian protests, day 10.(Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)

• As Aaron David Miller predicted two days ago, following the unrest in Cairo Israel has retreated even further away from the prospect of Palestinian peace talks. [NYT]

• More violent clashes in Cairo left at least five dead and hundreds wounded. [NYT]

• Jordan’s King Abdullah II meets today with opposition Islamists for the first time in nearly ten years to hear out their grievances. [WSJ]

• It is undeniable that President Hosni Mubarak retains a broad base of support, from among the rich and poor alike. [WP]

• It seems obvious, but in calling for a transition to begin “now” and condemning violence against protesters (“shocking,” Secretary of State Clinton called it), the United States is breaking with a major ally in an extremely unusual way. [NYT]

• Perhaps even more remarkably, the U.S. is recalculating its stance toward “non-secular actors” in Egypt—the Muslim Brotherhood—out of recognition that they are likely to play a role in the democratic government the U.S. seeks there. [WP]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.