Israel apparently has decided not to go head-to-head against an Egyptian regime headed by the radical Muslim Brotherhood and has congratulated it for its efforts to achieve freedom, democracy and economic development.

The party was outlawed the regime of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and recently changed its political label to “Freedom and Justice” party. It won a plurality of votes in the recent elections and will hold the position of Speaker in the new parliament.

The Muslim Brotherhood campaigned with an openly anti-Israel and anti-American agenda but since then has issued contradictory statements and innuendoes concerning the continuation of the peace treaty with Israel.

The Israel Foreign Ministry has decided to take an optimistic view, at least publicly, and stated, “We send the new parliament our wishes of constructive and fruitful work for the well-being of the Egyptian public. We trust Egypt will continue to uphold the importance of peace and stability in our region.”

Along with the even more radical Salafist al-Nour party, the two factions won a majority of votes.

Egypt is dependent on American aid, which is conditioned on the respect of human rights. Coupled with the current economic crisis in the country, the parties are expected to be more practical than ideological towards Israel.

Last week, the Chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, Mohamed Morsi, announced that it does not intend to cancel the peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979, while party spokesman Mahmoud Ghazlan said it rejects dialogue with Israel.