The conflict over control of the strategic border in southern Gaza threatens to ruin relations between Israel and Egypt, 45 years after the peace deal between the two countries ended an escalation of regional wars. The dispute comes as Cairo also acts as a key mediator to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which confirmed this Tuesday that it is “exploring” an Israeli proposal to stop the bombings that have been going on for several weeks in return for the release of those held captive Hostages in the Strip since October 7th. Tensions between the countries have soared as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to reject the ceasefire, seeks to exert greater control and occupy a narrow border corridor with Egypt, whose status has been settled since 1979.
After meeting CIA Director William Burns in Paris on Sunday; the heads of the Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence service), David Barnea, and the Shin Bet (internal security), Rosen Bar; With the Director of Egyptian Military Intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abderamán Al Thani, the cards for concluding a ceasefire agreement in Gaza are already on the table. The Islamist movement continues to formally insist on the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza as a prerequisite for any agreement, but its top leader Ismail Haniya confirmed from Doha that his organization is already “reviewing” the latest Israeli proposal.
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Netanyahu speaks publicly only of “total victory” in the elimination of Hamas from Gaza and the release of the hostages, but this Tuesday he added that there will be neither a withdrawal of his troops from Gaza nor the release of “thousands of Palestinian terrorists.” who are imprisoned there prisons. From Israel. According to Amos Arel, defense correspondent for Haaretz newspaper, Israel's latest proposal calls for a six-week ceasefire. In a first phase, it would involve the release of 35 hostages (civilian women and the elderly, sick or injured) in exchange for the release from prison of “several thousand” of the more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners convicted of “crimes.” of security”. The Minister of National Security, the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, quickly warned that he would topple the Netanyahu government if a ceasefire was agreed under these conditions.
Behind Cairo's dissatisfaction with Israel, which is disrupting ceasefire negotiations, is fear that the expansion of the military offensive into the southern Gaza Strip and the order to relocate civilians to areas ever closer to Egypt will lead to an increasingly deteriorating humanitarian situation The contributions of those displaced by the war are the start of a massive expulsion of Gaza residents to the Sinai Peninsula. The authorities also do not rule out the possibility that the crisis will worsen to the point where many Palestinians will attempt to cross the border by force.
Conclave of the extreme right
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In a political conclave last Sunday in Jerusalem attended by 12 members of Netanyahu's executive branch and 15 deputies from the ultra-conservative coalition supporting his government, radical minister Ben Gvir “again encouraged the Palestinian population to take control of the Gaza Strip through a 'voluntary' Measure to leave “emigration plan” as well as the “return” of settlers in relation to the 21 Jewish settlements with about 8,000 inhabitants that were dismantled in 2005 when Israel withdrew its troops from the occupied Palestinian coastal enclave. Military since 1967. Another of the prime minister's main allies, the head of the finance department, the religious right-wing extremist Bezalel Smotrich, has also defended the resettlement of Jewish settlers in the enclave.
Egypt has always and categorically rejected the expulsion of Gazans to its territory in order to avoid becoming complicit in the “ethnic cleansing” of the Gaza Strip and because this would undermine the right of the Palestinians to establish a state that includes Gaza would convert the Gaza Strip Sinai is a base of operations against Israel for the militias of the Palestinian resistance groups.
Netanyahu was not in favor of restoring Israeli settlements in Gaza, but neither has he broken away from his extremist partners in government, on whom he depends to stay in power while popular protests continue in Israel against the handling of this conflict into the fifth month. Israel claims that Hamas is bringing weapons into the Gaza Strip through the demilitarized border zone known as the Philadelphi or Salah El Din corridor. Egypt denies such smuggling operations and believes Israeli officials are simply trying to legitimize an eventual military occupation of the corridor, where Cairo has drawn a red line.
Groups of Palestinians in the Egypt-Gaza border area, near Rafan, on January 18. Anadolu (Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Any Israeli move in this direction will pose a serious threat to relations.” [bilaterales]”warned the director of Egypt's State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan. The two countries had already clashed recently after Israel's defense team at the International Court of Justice, which is investigating allegations made by South Africa of inciting genocide in Gaza, claimed that Egypt was also for the bad Humanitarian aid is responsible for entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Palestinian enclave with Sinai, the only one not controlled by Israel.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has refused to speak to Netanyahu by telephone in recent weeks, according to Israel's Channel 13 television, and just seven days ago he openly rejected a direct request from the Israeli Cabinet. The last time a conversation between the two leaders was made public was in early June last year. Despite the Egyptian reservation, Al-Sisi has openly accused Israel of obstructing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by delaying security checks at the border in order to pressure Hamas to quickly release the hostages in its possession: 136 of whom, according to the report According to Israeli intelligence, 29 have already died.
The deterioration in relations with Israel represents a sensitive diplomatic issue for Egypt, which became the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with the Jewish state. Cairo has also positioned itself as a reference broker against Hamas in Gaza, allowing it to maintain its importance in the region, especially in the eyes of the United States, from which it receives military and economic aid.
At the same time, official Egyptian sources have told local and international media that they are considering withdrawing their ambassador in Tel Aviv, as happened after the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982. Senior American and Israeli officials have even privately mentioned to regional media that Cairo has communicated to them its determination to cut ties with Israel if its forces eventually push Gazans toward Sinai.
Internal effects of the conflict
On the internal side, Egyptian authorities are forced to maintain a difficult balance between their relations with Israel and the West and strong popular support for the Palestinian cause, which has proven to be a major catalyst for social anger and protests. In parallel with the military offensive in Gaza, Egypt is experiencing a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by the disruption of maritime traffic in the Red Sea, which is reducing Egyptian revenue from shipping tariffs in the Suez Canal.
The conflict has spread directly into Egyptian territory on several occasions, putting Cairo in an uncomfortable position domestically, although public accusations have been avoided. In October, a cluster projectile fired by Israeli troops accidentally hit an Egyptian border control tower, injuring several soldiers. Similarly, drones and rockets apparently fired by Yemen's Houthi movement against Israel had to be intercepted by the Egyptian army near tourist towns in southern Sinai, and at one point a rocket struck the coastal town of Taba. Israel has also bombed Rafah, on the border with Egypt, at least four times.
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