Unlike most other Arab countries, Eritrea developed relatively good relations with Israel soon after it gained independence in 1993. Its leader President Issaias Afeworki ignored criticisms from other Arab countries and engaged Israel both on a strategic level and on a commercial level. He himself is known to have travelled to Israel several times, for medical treatment among other things.
There is no inherent anti-Israeli feeling among Eritreans. One reason for this is the fact that many members of Eritrean society - both men and women - are former fighters in the rebellion against the former Communist-backed Mengistu regime. It is said that the rebel forces received considerable secret help from Israel during their decades of fighting, in terms of intelligence, weapons, etc.
Since independence, other reasons have emerged for Eritrea to keep good links with Israel. For example, during the Eritrea-Yemen confrontation over disputed islands on the Red Sea in December 1995, Sanaa accused Asmara of acting with Israeli help. Eritrea is said to have provided some naval basing facilities for the Israeli Defence Forces on these islands.
Similarly, Israel's links with both Eritrea and Ethiopia meant it had to stay neutral in the war between the two countries which erupted in 1998. For instance, in 1998, Ethiopia was in negotiation with an Israeli company to upgrade and refurbish 50 mothballed MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighters. Agreement was reached but then delayed because of Eritrean complaints. Israel does not want to jeopardise ties with either Eritrea or Ethiopia, one of the most important countries in Africa and the source of the Nile.
Eritrea's main focus on present is on internal stability and on the war with Ethiopia. It is important to note that the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict is a relatively recent development. Until the mid-1990s, the leaderships of both countries were friendly. Eritrean forces under current President Afeworki fought a 30-year war against the Ethiopia regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam together with a rebel Ethiopian coalition called the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by current Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi. Afeworki and Zenawi were personal friends.
Their combined forces overthrew Mengistu and seized power in May 1991. Relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara remained good on the surface, although sections of the Ethiopian elite complained about the way in which Eritrea appeared to be headed for separation. Despite that, Eritrea gained independence after a referendum in May 1993, but sections of their common border, a colonial legacy, were never demarcated.
Fighting suddenly exploded in the border area in May 1998. The focus was on the Badme region, which both countries claim - a rocky triangle of sparsely populated land covering about 400 square kilometres. Eritrea, which is said to have started the hostilities, ended up controlling the region when the fighting died down in mid-June 1998. In the meantime there was intensive diplomacy involving the US, Rwanda and the OAU among others.
Ethiopia accepted the OAU plan of November 1998, but Eritrea did not make a commitment. This created the environment for the outbreak of fighting on Feb. 6, 1999, believed to have been launched by Ethiopia. As Ethiopian troops gained the upper hand, Asmara announced its acceptance of the OAU plan, but Addis Ababa rejected this as "insincere". Sporadic fighting has continued in the border region since then.