Egyptians gather outside the presidential palace to celebrate former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's victory in the presidential vote in Cairo
Egyptians gather outside the presidential palace to celebrate former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's victory in the presidential vote in Cairo Reuters

Israeli leaders congratulated Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has won a landslide presidential election in Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president Shimon Peres gave two separate phone calls to Sisi to stress the importance of bilateral ties between Israel and its neighbour.

Neither spoke with the previous Egyptian head of state, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted from power by an army-led coup following anti-government protests.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu noted to the Egyptian president-elect the strategic importance of ties between the countries and in sustaining the peace accords between them," the Israeli leader's office said in a statement.

Peres's office said their conversation ended with the words: "President Sisi thanked President Peres for his warm words."

Egypt and Israel are tied by a historic peace treaty signed in 1979, which is seen by the West as a pivotal deal for the regional stability of Middle East. As Egyptian president, Morsi never threatened to dismiss the treaty, although the Muslim Brotherhood previously called for it to be reviewed.

Israeli officials are relieved to see that security along the shared border in the Sinai, which had seen a surge in Islamist terrorist attacks, improved markedly over the past year.

"Israel is committed to maintain the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and to strengthening the cooperation between our nations," Peres's office said.

It was not immediately clear if any Israelis would be invited to Sisi's inauguration.