Jerusalem ( CNN ) -- Israel was silent Friday as a week of massive street protests engulfed the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities . Neither officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office nor the Israeli foreign ministry offered any public comment on the growing political instability in Israel 's most important regional ally . After the first day of Cairo street protests on Tuesday , Israeli Knesset member Benjamin Ben Eliezer , known as the Israeli politician with the closest ties to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak , told Israeli Army Radio that he did not believe the demonstrations would bring down the regime for lack of a viable leadership in the opposition . `` There is no leading figure that can lead the wave of protests till the regime falls , '' he said . `` This is not a regime of one person , but it is backed by the army , the intelligence agencies and the secret service. '' . It was an assessment shared by more than a few Israeli analysts and government officials , but by Friday night , underscoring just how rapidly events were moving , Arab affairs analysts for the two major Israeli television networks were talking about the possibility of Mubarak being forced from power . While the relationship between Israel and Egypt is frequently described as a `` cold peace , '' the two countries maintain significant intelligence and security ties . In addition to its role as facilitator in on-and-off-again talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians , Egypt shares a number of mutual interests with Israel , including curbing the influence of Iran in both Lebanon and Gaza . The two countries signed a historic peace agreement in 1979 , and during his 28 years in office , Mubarak has worked with eight Israeli prime ministers .
There 's been no official comment from the Israeli government about the Egyptian situation . Earlier this week , a Knesset member said he did n't see Mubarak stepping down . But Friday , analysts on Israeli television spoke about the possibility . Egypt and Israel signed a peace accord in 1979 .