And what exactly are they going to do if we don’t give them the money? — Cancel the treaty and attack Israel? The IDF would steamroll the Egyptian military without breaking a sweat.

(JPost) — US aid to Egypt is guaranteed by the Camp David Accords, and stopping it would be a violation of that treaty, a high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker said Sunday.

Essam El-Erian, who also serves as chairman of the Egyptian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said that should aid from Washington be cut, the Brotherhood would consider changing the terms of Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

El-Erian told the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat the US needs to understand that “what was acceptable before the revolution is no longer,” and that should the aid provisions outlined in the treaty be modified, it could open the door to further changes in the agreement.

A Gallup poll released last week found 71 percent of Egyptians oppose US economic aid to their country, and a similar percentage oppose Washington sending direct aid to civil society groups. Last month the US administration announced it would speed up aid to Egypt as the country copes with mounting economic problems during the transition from president Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade term in power.

Congress has already approved $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in civilian aid for the current fiscal year. That assistance, however, is conditioned upon Egypt meeting all of its obligations under its peace treaty with Israel. That factor that may help explain the unpopularity of US aid — the treaty is widely unpopular in Egypt, and many see the conditions on US aid as an infringement on the country’s sovereignty.