Filed within the last hour on the AP wire, a possible early outcome of the democratization of Egypt:
An Egyptian diplomat said Sunday his country's military leadership is considering loosening the travel restrictions on Palestinians leaving the neighboring Gaza Strip.
If realized, this would be huge news on multiple levels. Obviously, it could lead in the short term to an easing of the humanitarian suffering the ferocious Israeli blockade has caused in Gaza. It could also be a sign that a democratic Egypt, one in which the people have finally been freed from the oppressive strictures of its former authoritarian government and now have a say in how their government is organized, may be rethinking the alliance with Israel its dictators had imposed on it.
This could be very, very bad news for the right wing government that has been misleading Israel for the last decade (dating from Sharon's victory over Labor in 2001). Laboring under the illusion that Israel's security could be guaranteed simply by repressing Palestinian national aspirations, Israel has offered no compromise to any of its enemies, relying instead on its dominant military to keep its neighbors in line. A secure southern border with Egypt made the Israelis' task that much easier.
There is no indication as yet that Egypt will nullify its peace treaty with Israel, nor is it even certain that the blockade on Gaza will be lifted. But it is clear that a democratic Egypt will not be Israel's lapdog, in the way that dictatorial Egypt had been for so many years.