Egypt was the first Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 1979, following the Camp David Accords. But Israel’s war against Gaza has strained ties between the two countries.
Now, Israel’s planned ground offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah is exacerbating these tensions, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing months-long Israeli bombardment have sought refuge in Rafah.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday denied reports that Cairo was considering withdrawing from the 1979 peace accord, but added that his country would adhere to the treaty as long as it was “reciprocal.”
Here’s why Israel’s Rafah offensive is so crucial to Egypt-Israel relations.
Why does Egypt oppose Israel’s planned offensive on Rafah?
Israel’s planned ground attack on Rafah threatens to intensify pressure on displaced Palestinians to settle in Egypt’s Sinai – a development that Egyptian officials say would cross a red line.
The estimated 1.4 million internally displaced Palestinians who have been crammed into 64 square kilometers (25 square miles) of Rafah have nowhere to go due to a lack of food, water and medicine. NGOs, governments and others in the international community opposed the planned Israeli offensive, fearing large numbers of civilian casualties. Around a hundred people, including 42 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Sunday evening.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, calls by senior Israeli officials for Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza – a euphemism for their forced displacement – have alarmed Egyptians who do not want an exodus. refugees across the border. Egypt, along with several Arab countries, fears that Israel will not allow displaced Palestinians to return to Gaza.
More than 750,000 Palestinians, who were driven from their homes in the 1948 ethnic cleansing – called the Nakba, or catastrophe, by Palestinians – during the creation of the State of Israel, were not allowed to to come back. Israel has always opposed the right of return of Palestinians expelled from what is now Israel during the Nakba.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion in December that he wanted to control the Philadelphia Corridor – a narrow corridor that separates Egypt from Gaza – also angered Egyptians. Diaa Rashwan, the head of the State Information Service, said at the time that the “occupation” of the 14 kilometers (about 8.7 miles) long and 100 meters wide (328 feet wide) corridor large) would constitute a breach in Egyptian law. Peace treaty with Israel.
Egypt has controlled this strip of land since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
Cairo has beefed up border security, moving tanks and armored personnel carriers close to the border to stop any potential spillover from an Israeli ground attack.
The two countries are required by the 1979 agreement not to strengthen their military presence in border areas without prior agreement. Tel Aviv Tribune was unable to confirm whether Cairo was coordinating its military movement with Tel Aviv.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev said her country was aware of Egypt’s concerns over the impending Rafah offensive, adding that Cairo and Tel Aviv would be able to resolve the issue through talks.
What are Egypt’s relations with Israel like?
Relations between Egypt and Israel have survived several crises in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Intifadas and Israel’s invasion and occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as its numerous military attacks on Gaza.
Under the leadership of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ties with Israel have increasingly focused on economic and energy relations at a time when Cairo faces a severe economic crisis.
Since Al-Sisi took power in a 2013 coup, Egypt, as part of its security coordination with Israel, has destroyed hundreds of tunnels that Palestinians used to smuggling goods – and sometimes weapons – beyond the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Cairo also destroyed thousands of buildings to create a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. Egypt has cooperated with Israel in the 17-year blockade of Gaza.
Egypt on Monday blasted comments by Israeli officials that Hamas was using its territory to smuggle weapons.
The Egyptian president has spoken out against the widespread destruction of Gaza and the killing of thousands of Palestinians, amid widespread support among Palestinians in the country.
For decades, Egypt played a leading mediator role in negotiations and prisoner exchange deals between Hamas and Israel. Cairo is currently hosting several rounds of negotiations between Israeli and Hamas officials with the aim of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings since October 7. Tel Aviv says its military goal is to destroy Hamas, but it has been condemned for the large number of civilian casualties.
What are the Camp David Accords?
Former US President Jimmy Carter brokered a series of peace talks between then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, the former Israeli prime minister, at Camp David, a US president’s residence near Washington , D.C.
The agreements established the conditions for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and a framework for Israeli-Palestinian peace using UN Resolution 242, which called for Israel’s withdrawal from territories occupied during the War of Six Days in 1967.
Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from Sinai in exchange for diplomatic relations with Egypt and access to the Suez Canal – a major shipping route. Egypt had nationalized the canal in 1956, after which Israel, along with the United Kingdom and France, unsuccessfully invaded Egypt to regain control of the canal.
Analysts say Cairo is unlikely to withdraw from the Camp David accords. Egypt receives billions of dollars in U.S. aid under the deal and maintains close military ties with Washington. A massive military buildup would also strain Egypt’s already struggling economy.