Jordan to host talks on Syria’s return to Arab League

Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria's top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict, officials said.

The meeting, to be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his counterparts from Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, would discuss a Jordanian plan to achieve a political settlement of the conflict, Jordanian government officials said.

The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, failed to reach agreement on Syria's possible return to the Arab fold.

It is the first such meeting with a top Syrian official by a group of Arab states - most of whom endorsed the move to suspend Syria's membership of the League in 2011 after a crackdown on protesters denouncing President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule escalated into a devastating civil war.

Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalizing ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict.

It would include tackling the issue of refugees, the fate of thousands of missing detainees, drug smuggling between Syria and the Gulf through Jordan and the presence of Iranian militias in Syria.

Regional superpower Saudi Arabia has resisted normalizing relations with Assad but said after its rapprochement with Iran - Syria's key regional ally - a new approach was needed with Damascus, which is under Western sanctions.

At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus accepts to negotiate a peace plan.

Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, met on Sunday with visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, officials said.

Washington does not wish to change its policy towards the Syrian government which it terms a ‘rogue’ state, has urged Arab states that have shifted their stance to get something in return for engaging with Assad once again.

Saudi Navy carries out evacuation operation from Sudan

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) carried out the operation that evacuated citizens, other nationals, diplomats and international officials from Sudan on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry announced. The RSNF conducted the operation with the support of various branches of the armed forces.

The Ministry said, “66 persons from Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso were among the evacuated.” The number of evacuated Saudi citizens was 91 persons.

All the Saudi citizens and nationals of other countries have arrived safely in Jeddah. This has come in the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom’s leadership, the Ministry said.

The batches arrived in Jeddah at King Faisal Naval Base and were received by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Al-Khereiji.

Al-Khereiji said that the journey of the evacuation was long, starting from Khartoum, passing through a number of regions in Sudan until reaching Port Sudan, and with the cooperation of government agencies in the Kingdom. He affirmed that an important role of the operation was done by Ministry of Defense that implemented this plan.

“We all celebrate the return of our sons and the sons of brotherly and friendly countries to the land of Saudi Arabia, which coincided with the celebration of Eid Al-Fitr.”

Saudi Arabia has worked to provide all the main needs for the foreign nationals, in preparation for facilitating their departure to their countries.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan received a phone call from his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Salem voiced sincere congratulations on successful evacuations by Saudi ships of citizens from 11 countries from Sudan to Jeddah.

Sheikh Salem expressed Kuwait's appreciation and gratitude to the Saudi foreign minister for the Kingdom's efforts to ensure the evacuation of Kuwaiti citizens from Sudan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced earlier on Saturday the start of arranging the evacuation of Saudi citizens and a number of nationals from other countries from Sudan to Jeddah by sea on 5 Saudi ships. The second Saudi ship was carrying Saudia airline crew who was targeted in Khartoum airport.

It is noteworthy that after a week of fighting between two factions of the country’s military leadership, at least 400 people have been killed in Sudan.

Mohammed Bin Salman chosen most influential Arab leader of 2022

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) has been chosen the most influential Arab leader of 2022, according to an opinion poll conducted by the RT Arabic channel.

The Crown Prince has secured around 7.4 million (62.3%) votes out of the total votes of those who participated in the poll.

MBS obtained 7,399,451 votes out of the total 11,877,546 votes of those polled. The poll began on December 15, 2022 and ended on January 09, 2023.

The percentage of votes obtained by the Crown Prince broke the record in the history of opinion polls that RT Arabic conducts by the end of every year.

In the opinion poll, the second place went to the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, securing 2,950,543 votes that represent 24.8% of the total votes.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi won the third place with 1,387,497 votes; making up 11.7% of the total votes of those participated in the poll, carried out by RT Arabic, a global multilingual television news network based in Russia.

Significance of simultaneous visits of Biden and Putin to West Asia

Simultaneous visits of the presidents of the United States and Russia to the West Asia region signifies East-West confrontation.

Mohammad Hossein Soltanifard, Head of the office representing Iran’s interests in Cairo, said his country is the central part of any equation in the region.

Biden started a 4-day visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia from July 13, 2022. Putin is scheduled to visit Iran on July 19. 2022. Putin will attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, the so-called Astana format of meetings for Syria-related talks.

Putin's visit to Iran immediately after Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia “evokes, once again, the East-West confrontation,” Soltanifard said on Twitter.

Soltanifard added, “Iran will still be the bridge of victory, with the difference that the Islamic Republic of Iran is considered the main part of any equation in the region at this point.”

Soltanifard has been appointed as the representative of Iran’s interests in Egypt recently. He replaced Nasser Kanaani, who is now the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry. Soltanifard reached Cairo on July 11.

Earlier, he also praised Cairo's position in opposing the American project to establish an alliance against the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Egypt's opposition to the illusory dream of the United States to create an alliance against the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of the silence of other countries participating in the Jeddah Summit is commendable and understandable.,” he said on Twitter.

He added, “And this project, like the project to create the Greater Middle East and the deal of the century, will be born dead, God willing.”

Iran and Egypt have held a high-level meeting in recent weeks and have agreed to boost their relations, according to a Qatari-owned newspaper.

Citing Egyptian diplomatic sources, Al Araby Al Jadeed said new developments have taken place in the relations between Tehran and Cairo ahead of a mid-July visit by US President Joe Biden to the region.

“A high-level meeting, which took place during the recent visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to the Sultanate of Oman, brought together Egyptian and Iranian officials,” the sources told Al Araby Al Jadeed in early July.

They added that the meeting was attended by a high-ranking figure from the delegation accompanying the Egyptian president with Omani coordination.

The sources indicated that the meeting “was of a security nature in general, and touched upon the situation in the Gaza Strip and Syria,” adding “there were many points of agreement between the two parties, and that the coming period may witness direct coordination between Cairo and Tehran on issues and matters related to the Strip.”

According to the sources, “during the meeting, an agreement was reached on joint coordination in international forums, as long as that was possible, in light of the desire of Cairo and Tehran to reach a good level of relations, provided that they would gradually improve, according to the developments of events in the region.”

In his visit to Oman, the Egyptian President was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel, Minister of Planning Hala Saeed, and a number of other officials.
 

 

Israel using gas exports to boost its diplomatic influence

A visit to the Leviathan gas rig off the coast of Haifa illustrates Israel’s opportunity to up its gas game and wield its diplomatic power across the globe. The gas rig is actually quite big.

With three main levels and pipes that seem to go on forever – leaving one wonder how someone figured out how to connect them all.

Leviathan is the largest gas rig in Israeli waters that receives gas from the country’s largest gas reservoir located well over 100 km away. The gas flows through the rig where it is cleaned and then propelled directly to Israel where it immediately powers the country.

Russian invasion of Ukraine has opened what some in the industry call “historic opportunities” for the Jewish state to up its energy game and, in return, increase its diplomatic value and standing in the Middle East and beyond.

The illustrations are bountiful, but two are important: In March, President Isaac Herzog flew to Turkey and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Jerusalem for talks with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Ankara is heavily reliant on Russia for energy – including 45% of its natural gas and 17% of its oil. Reconciliation with Israel and improving relations is the key for Turkey to be able to potentially diversify its suppliers and cut back its dependence on Russia.

The second example was the flip-flop that Israeli Energy Minister Karin Elharrar did on May 30 when she announced that her ministry would be issuing licenses for new exploration of natural gas in Israeli waters. It was a sharp turn from what the Yesh Atid had announced just six months earlier in December 2021.

Elharrar said, “In the coming year we will focus on the future, on green energy, on energy optimization and on renewable energy, and while we do so we will put aside the development of natural gas, which, as is known, is a short-term solution.”

By May 30, Elharrar was singing a different mantra, “The global energy crisis provides an opportunity for Israel to export natural gas, along with the honest and real concern for what is going on in Europe.”

A global energy crisis and the recognition that Israel can play a role in resolving it and at the same time improving its international standing, makes the big difference.

“The world changed and we cannot ignore it,” said Energy Ministry Director General Lior Schillat. “There is a rise in the demand for gas especially in Europe since the Russia situation and they need a steady supply and the minister did a reassessment in the middle of the year instead of at the end of the year since we think it is possible to increase the supply.”

Oded Eran, Israel’s former Ambassador to the European Union, said that the developments in Europe are a historic opportunity for Israel and the energy minister’s policy reversal needs to be looked at through that prism. On the one hand, Eran explained, was the populist-driven decision last December to stop exploration which had wanted to put Israel on track with the climate change camp while ignoring the economic and diplomatic opportunities that gas provides the country.

Until now, Eran added, Israel was not viewed as an international energy player but just as a regional one. “But now with the war in Ukraine, you can see that Israel is not unimportant,” he said.

As an example, Eran referred to US President Joe Biden’s promise in March to transfer 15 billion cubic meters (BCM) of liquefied natural gas to Europe by the end of 2022 to help with the shortfall caused by the war in Ukraine. Israel, he said, already exports about 10 BCM of natural gas to Jordan and Egypt.

“This is not far from the amount that Biden promised Europe,” he said.

Israel-Egypt-European Union sign initial gas export agreement

The energy ministers of Israel, Egypt and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding to export Israeli gas to Europe, at a ceremony in Cairo on Wednesday. The agreement comes as Europe looks for alternative sources of energy to Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine.

The gas will be transferred from Israel to Egypt via an existing pipeline. Egypt will use its facilities to liquefy the gas for export to ensure a steady stream of natural gas to Europe, while ensuring the energy security of all sides.

“The MOU will allow Israel to export natural gas to Europe for the first time, and that is even more impressive when considering that significant agreements we have signed in the past year, making Israel and its energy and water market a key player in the world.”

The arrangement is meant to continue until at least 2030, and will be gradually reduced until 2050. The sides agreed to work together on carbon capture and the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as to cooperate with the private sector on green energy and energy efficiency initiatives.

In addition, the sides agreed to work on a plan to make gas exports to Europe more efficient. The EU will encourage European companies to take part in searching for and producing natural gas in Israeli and Egyptian economic waters.

Energy Minister Karin Elharrar characterized the signing as a great moment in which little Israel becomes a significant player in the global energy market.

“The MOU will allow Israel to export natural gas to Europe for the first time, and that is even more impressive when considering that significant agreements we have signed in the past year, making Israel and its energy and water market a key player in the world,” Elharrar stated.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was present at the signing, tweeted, “With this... agreement we will work on the stable delivery of natural gas to the EU from the East Med region. This will contribute to our EU energy security. And we are building infrastructure fit for renewables – the energy of the future.”

Von der Leyen addressed the important role of EU-Israel energy cooperation in her remarks to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“The EU was the biggest, most important client of the Russian supplier – for oil, gas and coal,” she said, “But with the beginning of this war and the attempt of Russia to blackmail us through energy, by deliberately cutting off the energy supplies, we decided to cut off and to get rid of the dependency on Russian fossil fuels and to move away from Russia and diversify to trustworthy suppliers.”

Russia provided Europe with about 40% of its natural gas consumption per year – more than 150 billion cubic meters (bcm). Israel cannot take Russia’s place altogether, but Eastern Mediterranean states can provide about 20 bcm annually, most of which would come from Israel. The US promised Europe 15-20 bcm of liquefied natural gas following the Russia sanctions, and Qatar is expected to export 20-30 bcm to the continent.

Talks between the EU and Israel toward a framework agreement for transferring gas officially began in late April.

Energy Ministry Director-General Lior Schillat said last month, “The Europeans and Americans expect that the energy crisis will influence the continent not only in the next couple of years but for the next decade as they try to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Israel, as part of this effort, will have to build infrastructure to send more gas to Egypt and then to Europe. It is a long-term effort.”

Gas exploration and production company Energean brought the Karish reservoir in Israel’s northern waters online earlier this month, which works toward the Energy Ministry’s aim of doubling Israel’s gas export capacity in the coming years.

“Today, the local market uses 12 billion cubic meters and we export another 4 to Egypt and 3 to Jordan,” Schillat said. “We will start with low numbers of additional exports and increase as Israel’s capacity grows.”

EU members to buy gas from Egypt and Israel

The European Commission has proposed a deal to European Union (EU) member states with Egypt and Israel to boost imports of natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean. The draft memorandum of understanding, which is still subject to changes and needs approval from the governments involved.

It is part of the European Union's efforts to reduce fossil fuel imports from Russia following the war in Ukraine.

"The natural gas to be shipped to the European Union will originate either from Egypt, Israel or any other source in the East Mediterranean region, including EU member states in the region.

The EU has said publicly it intends to conclude a trilateral agreement with Egypt and Israel before the summer.

The draft deal establishes the principles for enhanced cooperation between the three partners but does not say how much gas the EU would import nor set any timelines for deliveries.

The document said shipments would include the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Egypt, noting the North African country's plan to become a regional hub for natural gas.

The memorandum of understanding would run for nine years from its signature, the document says, although that part is still in brackets, a sign that there is a higher chance it could be changed than other paragraphs.

Egypt already exports relatively small amounts of gas to the EU, and both countries are expecting to ramp up production and exports in the coming years.

Egypt exported 8.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG last year and 4.7 bcm in the first five months of 2022, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, though the majority goes to Asia.

Israel is on track in the next few years to double gas output to about 40 bcm a year as it expands projects and brings new fields online, industry officials say. Israel has said it hopes to reach a deal to supply gas to Europe and is also considering building a pipeline to export more gas to Egypt.

The EU imported 155 bcm of gas from Russia last year, accounting for about 40% of the bloc's overall consumption.

Under the draft agreement, Egypt would be able to purchase some of the gas being transported to the EU or other countries via Egyptian infrastructure, the document said, adding that Egypt could use it for its own consumption or for export.

The parties "will work collaboratively to set forth the appropriate ways and means for implementing the purpose of this memorandum of understanding in order to expedite the export of natural gas to the EU," the document said.

The deal does not introduce any binding legal or financial obligation on the signatories, the document said.

Under the plan, the EU could fund new infrastructure if it is in line with its commitment to discourage all further investments into fossil fuel infrastructure projects in third countries, unless they are fully consistent with an ambitious, clearly defined pathway towards climate neutrality.

Suez Canal revenues to rise by 27% for financial year ending June 30, 2022

According to Finance Minister Mohamed Maait of Egypt, Suez Canal revenues are expected to rise to US$7 billion for the financial year 2021-22 ending on June 30, 2022, up 27% from US$5.5 billion for the last year.

Calendar year 2021 saw canal revenues hit a record US$6.3 billion, up 13% from US$5.6 billion seen in 2020.

The canal is the fastest route between Europe and Asia, and despite a 10% increase in toll rates implemented in March 2022, still saves shipping lines potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in time and fuel, compared to sailings around the Cape of Good Hope.

Asian ship owners have been among the most vocal to complain about the toll hike, in addition to tariff increases introduced at the beginning of February this year.

Seatrade Maritime News calculates a 9.4% rise in fees for a southbound transit by a standard dry bulk vessel, as well as a similar increase in rebate, as of today, as compared to rates in November 2020.

Egypt mobilized public support for a widely subscribed national public debt program to finance a US$8.5 billion canal expansion, finished in 2015. Completion of further works is expected next year.

With container shipping lines reporting profits of around US$190 billion last year, US$60 billion in the first quarter of 2022, Egypt can be expected to maintain the pressure on toll rates for some time to come.

Despite the fact that tourism flows to Egypt declined by 35% due to the Russian invitation of Ukraine, Maait expects tourism revenues to hover around US$12 billion by the end of the financial year.

The canal, as well as tourism receipts are important to Egypt’s GDP, which the International Monetary Fund expects to reach US$435.6 billion in nominal terms in 2022.

The Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) member hit out at recent proposed toll changes at both the Panama Canal and Suez Canal.

At a meeting on April 18, 2022, ASA delegates noted the significance of the Suez and Panama canals as critical global infrastructure and called for the canals to avoid “sudden and significant” changes in tolls and charges.

“Delegates expressed their confusion against new surcharges introduced on March 01, 2022 with only 48 hours prior notice, then to be revised on May 01, 2022 by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), which resulted in roughly a 7% to 20% toll increase for many types of vessels, in addition to a 6% tariff hike for most types of vessels, implemented on February 01, 2022,” said ASA.

Uncertainty around how surcharges operate could undermine the stability of the Canal, said the committee, calling for the industry to express its concerns to SCA.

ASA delegates some positives in the Panama Canal’s new toll system proposed earlier in April 2022 by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). Delegates said the ACP had given sufficient notice and a formal consultation period, but were concerned that significant toll hikes could affect the long-term viability of the canal, “as the mark-up for some types of vessels may exceed 100% in 2025, compared with the current toll.”

The ASA meeting also discussed the review of anti-trust exemptions for carriers on the US, a policy delegates said was “indispensable for the healthy development of the liner shipping industry and the maintenance of a reliable service to the entire trading community.” ASA will continue its efforts to maintain anti-trust exemptions for liner shipping agreements.

 

Egypt consolidates grip on northern Sinai

According to a The Jerusalem Post report, the Egyptian military has secured large areas of the strategic stretch of land bordering Palestinian-run Gaza and Israel on one side and the Suez Canal on the other. 

It is no longer on the back foot, witnesses, security sources and analysts say. Civilian life is still severely curtailed but the long-neglected region is changing as the state forges ahead with development schemes.

Many of the militants have been killed, fled or surrendered. Around 200 are still active, down from 400 two years ago and 800 in 2017, according to three Egyptian security sources.

On the outskirts of North Sinai's main city Al Arish, near where razed olive farms once stood, the government has built new apartment blocks.

A resident said people just sought a return to normality.

"We've had enough," said the man in his 50s, declining to be named. "We want to return to our houses or even the new ones they are building. We want to live in peace again."

Unrest roiled northern Sinai following the uprising in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak in 2011, escalating after the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi.

In November 2017, the Islamic State-affiliated militant group Sinai Province claimed the most lethal attack in Egypt's modern history, which killed more than 300 people at a North Sinai mosque, as well as an assassination attempt against the defense and interior ministers at Al Arish military airport.

The military started an operation in response in February 2018 and now appears to be in its strongest position in North Sinai - the only area in Egypt where there is regular militant activity - for at least a decade.

The security presence in southern Sinai, a popular tourist destination, has also been reinforced and some international travel warnings scaled back.

At Sinai's northeastern point at Rafah and along the border with Gaza, a buffer zone has been created on cleared land, monitored by dozens of Egyptian watchtowers.

In its most recent statement on North Sinai, the Egyptian military said 89 suspected militants had been killed in an undefined period over recent months, against eight casualties from its own ranks.

There has been a "continuous and significant decline" in the number of attacks over the past three to four years, with approximately 17 recorded shooting attacks and 39 bomb attacks so far this year compared to 166 and 187 respectively in 2017, security analyst Oded Berkowitz said.

Sinai Province's capability has also been eroded by the squeezing of supply lines and recruitment from Gaza due in part to deteriorating relations with Palestinian factions there, and the hostility from Sinai residents, Berkowitz said.

Though, estimating militant numbers is hard, recent death notices suggest those still active are mostly Egyptian and Palestinians from Gaza, while previously they included foreign fighters from the Caucuses and Saudi Arabia, he said.

Near Bir al-Abd, where militants occupied a group of villages for weeks in the summer of 2020, masked gunmen stormed a café where Salem al-Sayed was watching football in September, kidnapping him and seven others and accusing them of cooperating with the military.

"They put us in a closed place so we could not hear anything, not even the sound of the wind," the 35-year-old told Reuters. After four days with their hands bound and blindfolded, they were freed by the military in a raid, Sayed said.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as Army Chief ousted Mursi in 2013, says developing Sinai is a priority.

"We will not leave any land that can be developed in Sinai until we make it grow," he said this month at an event to mark the 1973 war with Israel on the peninsula.

Last month in northwestern Sinai, Sisi inaugurated a US$1.3 billion agricultural wastewater plant to help reclaim land for farming.

The government recently announced a plan for 17 agricultural and residential development clusters across Sinai, 10 of them in the north. It says it is allocating modern and traditional homes for those displaced.

Access and international cooperation development remain limited, however. Demolitions and other restrictions linked to military operations have triggered complaints from some residents and rights groups.

State infrastructure projects and housing developments seem beyond local needs and means, said Ahmed Salem of the London-based Sinai Foundation for Human Rights.

The effective siege in north-eastern Sinai has restricted much economic activity, he said.

"They (both sides) destroyed Al Arish, which used to be one of the most beautiful tourist places in Egypt. Nowhere else you could see such sandy beaches," said one middle-aged resident.

"We don't support Islamic State, but many Sinai residents, from Rafah to Al Arish, were dealt with unjustly and paid a heavy price after doing nothing wrong," he said.

Egypt an emerging global logistics hub

The government of Egypt has introduced a fully automated customs process aimed at significantly improving processing time and reducing costs for companies exporting goods to Egypt. 

The new trade facilitation technology—the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system—was successfully implemented on October 1 across all of Egypt’s ports, and is being applied to all goods imported into the country.

By using digital methods underpinned by block chain technology, the new customs system dispenses with paper documents, enabling goods to be checked and cleared before they reach Egyptian ports. The technology also strengthens risk management systems, identifying goods before they are shipped.

At the time of its launch, 38,700 exporters from around the world were registered to the new system, which has been broadly welcomed by Egypt’s trade partners. “This new trade facilitation technology will make it simpler, easier and cheaper for all companies exporting goods to Egypt,” said Jan Noether, CEO of the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce (AHK Egypt). “It shows that Egypt is not only open for business, but serious about maximizing its location at the crossroads of the world to become one of the world’s great trading economies.”

Independent evaluation shows that Egypt’s customs processing times have already improved by 55%.

Egypt is Africa’s second-largest importer; responsible for total imports in 2019 valued at $76.4 billion, and it is the world’s largest importer of wheat and asphalt. The biggest exporting countries to Egypt are China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Turkey.

At the launch of ACI, in Cairo, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Maait, Egypt’s Minister of Finance, described the implementation of ACI as “a crucial step in our plans to transform Egypt’s trade infrastructure. This new technology will make it much easier for companies all over the world to trade with Egypt, helping to deliver the government’s plan to create the most advanced logistics hub in the region.”

“The implementation of the Advance Cargo Information system is a crucial step in our plans to transform Egypt’s trade infrastructure. This new technology will make it much easier for companies all over the world to trade with Egypt, helping to deliver the government’s plan to create the most advanced logistics hub in the region.”

 In April 2019, the Egyptian government launched the National Single Window for Foreign Trade Facilitation (Nafeza), a single digital trade portal for all import, export and transit operations that links all of Egypt’s ports. The transformation program has also included the establishment of high-tech logistics centers in Cairo, East and West Port Said, Port Tawfik, Ain Sokhna, Damietta, Dakhilah and Alexandria to ensure that port facilities are transiting goods efficiently.

An evaluation shows that Egypt’s customs processing times have already improved by 55% since the portal was launched—a significant step in realizing the objective of reducing customs clearance time to less than one day.

Nafeza is part of an ambitious economic program to drive the wholesale modernization of the Egyptian economy. This initiative includes a $4 billion overhaul of Egypt’s ports, involving 58 wide-ranging projects that include the construction of new berths, trading yards and wharves as well as the dredging of shipping lanes and port docks. Plans are also in progress to develop a series of dry ports that will connect Egypt’s seaports to inland locations.

The dry port connections are part of a major railway and road expansion program—comprising more than 2,000 projects—set to be completed by 2024. Flagship projects include a highway linking Egypt with nine other African countries to boost Egypt’s exports to the continent, and a high-speed railway between Egyptian ports on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean coast. In line with Egypt Vision 2030, launched in February 2016, Egypt plans to almost double trade in goods and services, from 37% of the economy to 65%.

In 2020, Egypt attracted the second-highest level of foreign direct investment in the Arab world and was the biggest recipient of FDI funds in Africa.

Egypt’s infrastructure upgrades are part of a broader package of economic reforms to improve the country’s business environment and attract investment. Despite the impact of the pandemic, particularly on the country’s vital tourism sector, the Egyptian economy was one of the few emerging markets to experience growth last year. Egypt’s exports in June were up nearly 50% from the same month last year, while its trade deficit fell by over a quarter, according to data from the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. In 2020, Egypt attracted the second-highest levels of foreign direct investment in the Arab world, and was the biggest recipient of FDI funds in Africa.

Egypt is Africa’s top manufacturing hub, accounting for 22% of the continent’s value added in this sector, according to OECD, and the country’s reforms seek to boost the country’s manufacturing base. A key component of the economy, manufacturing is set to expand further as the country develops new sectors such as Covid vaccine and electric car production.

The OECD has also recognized, in a report published in July, that a growing number of firms are choosing Egypt as their production base for the African continent and the Middle East, and benefiting from the large number of free-trade agreements signed between Egypt and African, Arab, European and Latin American countries.

Commencement of commercial flights between Egypt and Israel

An Egyptair aircraft landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday in the airline’s first-ever commercial flight to Israel. The Egyptian national carrier will now run four weekly round-trip commercial flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo. 

Sunday’s flight was greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration of the historic event.

Since Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal in 1979, flights between the two countries have been offered by a subsidiary of Egyptair, called Air Sinai, created exclusively for that purpose. Those flights ran with varying frequencies between the two countries, depending on diplomatic conditions, and never showed the company’s logo on the plane.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh three weeks ago in the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to Egypt in a decade. Sisi felt comfortable at the time announcing the meeting publicly, whereas in the past, only Israel would publicize such high-level diplomatic events.

The flight followed another “historic first” flight last week, a direct commercial flight to Israel from Bahrain, kicking off Gulf Air’s new biweekly route between Ben-Gurion and Manama, Bahrain’s capital city.

Flights between Israel and Dubai began last November, and a direct route to Abu Dhabi launched in April. In July, El Al and Israir both launched their first flights to Marrakesh, Morocco, following the normalization of ties in December.

Israel has had peace with Egypt since 1979, but while Cairo has remained an important strategic partner throughout, the relationship has had hot and cold periods.

Last month the Taba border crossing between Israel and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula returned to full activity after Israel’s National Security Council lowered the travel alert level of beaches there. Travel to Sinai, a popular tourist destination for Israelis, was severely restricted during the past year due to the corona pandemic.

Can Bennett-Sisi cooperation restore peace in Middle East?

Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett met Egyptian Pres­ident Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, on the first visit by a prime minister of the Jewish state to the North African country in over a decade. 

Sisi hosted Bennett in the Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh where they discussed “efforts to revive the peace process” between the Israelis and Palestinians, presidential spoke­sman Bassam Radi informed.

Security cooperation between the two countries was also discussed at the meeting attended by Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Abbas Kamel and Israel’s National Security Advisor, Eyal Holata.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel, after decades of enmity.

In May this year, Egypt played a key role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip, after 11 days of deadly fighting.

Egypt regularly receives leaders of Hamas as well as of its political rival the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmud Abbas, while maintaining strong diplomatic, security and economic ties with Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday had proposed improving living conditions in Gaza and building new infrastructure in exchange for calm from Hamas, aiming to solve the “never-ending rounds of violence”.

But “it won’t happen without the support and involvement of our Egyptian partners and without their ability to talk to everyone involved”, he said.

Bennett’s visit came about 10 days after Abbas was in Cairo for talks with Sisi.

Monday’s talks mark “an important step in light of the growing security and economic relations between the two countries, and their mutual concern over the situation in Gaza”, Cairo-based analyst Nael Shama said.

It also fits with “Egypt’s plans to revive the political talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority”, he added.

Bennett, a right-wing religious nationalist, took office in June, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 straight years as Israel’s premier.

The last meeting between an Egyptian President and an Israeli Premier dates back to January 2011 when Hosni Mubarak received Netanyahu, weeks before Mubarak was toppled in a popular revolution.

In the political turbulence that followed, relations between the two countries deteriorated as protests were staged outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo in 2011.

The one-year reign of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2012 also proved to be icy, with Israel suspicious of his Muslim Brotherhood’s close ties to Hamas.

Sisi has again positioned Egypt as a regional bulwark of stability, echoing the frequent peace summits overseen by Mubarak before his ouster.

Israel and Egypt are two of Washington’s main allies in the Middle East and are the largest recipients of US military aid, and they have worked together on security issues. Sisi, in a 2019 interview on CBS, acknowledged Egypt’s army was working closely with Israel in combating “terrorists” in the restive North Sinai.

He underscored Cairo’s wide range of cooperation with Israel.

The relationship developed after Egypt regained sovereignty over the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The two neighbors have also deepened their ties in the field of energy. Since last year, Egypt has received natural gas from Israel to liquefy and re-export to Europe.

 

Iran announces new regional policy

From the beginning, the new Iranian government of Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi made it clear that change in the executive branch would bring about a shift in foreign policy. 

The new Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, indicated how this shift would play out under Ayatollah Raisi.

In his speech at the Baghdad summit, Abdollahian reiterated what his predecessor often underlined in such regional platforms that Iran wants closer cooperation with the countries of the region, especially Iran’s neighbors. 

But at the same time, he was keen to let it be known that this cooperation should be done in a new spirit, one that would respect the legitimate interests of Iran and refrain from pursuing a zero-sum game. In addition, the top Iranian diplomat made it clear that no one should seek to change the balance of power in the region by relying on outside forces. 

Underlining Iran’s support for the Iraqi efforts to create areas for cooperation and interaction among the countries of the region, Abdollahian noted, “Our region has all the religious, cultural and civilizational characteristics as well as material and spiritual capacities for regional cooperation and convergence, but unfortunately, due to foreign interventions and the dominance of security-oriented ideas, it has many problems, including war, instability and insecurity.”

In pointing to a foreign role in the region, the Iranian foreign minister put the focus on the main thrust of the Baghdad summit. The Iraqi government put much energy and effort into holding this summit to bring closer the views of stakeholders of a region suffering from political divergence and polarization. 

The Iraqis portrayed the summit as a unique platform to foster intra-regional cooperation and partnership. From their point of view, bringing together officials from rival countries would make Iraq more secure and spare it the prospect of being collateral damage for regional rivalry. 

In addition, the Iraqi government was eager to convey the message that they want, and are able, to work with all countries of the region regardless of their political standing.
 
Iran welcomed the Iraqi efforts and underlined the need to strengthen regional security through dialogue among the players in the region. “What we need today more than ever before is "sustainable regional security" with the participation of regional countries. Regional security will materialize depending on the use of economic resources to build a coalition for peace and development,” Abdollahian told the summit. 

He added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its support for the Iraqi government and people and its internal decisions including the withdrawal of foreign troops and holding early elections, and it welcomes Iraq’s constructive role in promoting a culture of dialogue and regional cooperation. Iran considers cooperation within the region as the basis for establishing stability and peace in this way. The Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasizing the important role of other countries in the region, declares its readiness to advance these goals.”

At the end of his speech, the top Iranian diplomat underlined that Iran is adopting a new approach toward the region under Ayatollah Raisi, who has reiterated more than once that Iran’s foreign policy should focus on regional cooperation particularly in economic arenas.

Abdollahian pointed to this new pivot and said, “With great pleasure, I declare, at the inauguration of Iran’s new government that our foreign policy, being ‘balanced, active and smart’, emphasizes the priority of relations with neighbors and other countries in the region, and we warmly shake hands with all neighboring and regional nations.”

Whether this new approach would lead to the normalization of ties with regional heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia remains to be seen. But it seems that there is still a long road ahead until relations are fully normalized. 

Two things happened at the Baghdad summit that dampened hopes for closer regional cooperation. First, Syria was not invited to the summit despite being a major neighbor of Iraq. Some press reports suggested the exclusion of Syria was due to foreign pressure on the Iraqi government. 

Iran objected to this exclusion both before and during the summit. “We believe that Syria, as one of Iraq’s important neighboring countries, should have been invited to this meeting, too,” said Abdollahian before leaving Tehran for Baghdad.

During the summit, Abdollahian once again alluded to Syria’s absence. “I would like to emphasize the role and support of regional nations in stabilizing and resorting security to Iraq including the friendly and brotherly country of the Syrian Arab Republic. I would like to express regret that Syria is not attending this summit,” he said. 

Second, there were no reports of a meeting between Abdollahian and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in Baghdad. This is while many important meetings were held on the sidelines of the summit. One such meeting was between the Emir of Qatar and the president of Egypt. Another meeting was between the Emir and the governor of Dubai, who also met with Abdollahian.

Water scarcity making Middle Eat more vulnerable

The Middle East is one of the driest regions in the world. The scarcity of water has often been touted as a source of national and interstate disputes in the area. Some scholars have predicted for some time the possibility of deadly national altercations and regional clashes over the distribution of water resources in parts of the region.

Although no full-blown war has erupted so far, two current episodes illustrate this point: 1) public protests in the Iranian province of Khuzestan and the growing discord between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over water dispensation from the River Nile. With climate change causing more droughts, the potential for conflict over water cannot be underestimated.

In recent days, the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, has experienced public protests over a shortage of water as the province and all of Iran have been hit by one of the worst droughts in modern times. 

The protests have rapidly spread into other parts of Iran, which has come on top of the damage wrought by Covid-19 and US sanctions. The security forces’ The treatment of the protesters by security forces has resulted in several deaths, with many injured and scores arrested.

The protests, at which ‘death to the Supreme Leader’, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been loudly chanted. Khamenei has now called on the security forces to be more understanding of the protestors and the outgoing moderate and reformist President Hassan Rouhani has joined him in that message.

The task will soon fall on president-elect Ebrahim Raisi, when he assumes office in early August. Since Raisi shares Khamenei’s conservative Islamic platform, he can use his position to be innovative.

While Iran is unlikely to go to war over water with any of its neighbors, the same cannot be firmly said about some of those downstream on the River Nile —the second longest, if not the longest, river in the world, yet with a relatively small reservoir capacity.

Ethiopia has been getting closer to a serious dispute with Egypt and Sudan ever since Addis Ababa decided in 2011 to build what it calls the hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam for securing more water for developmental purposes.

Egypt, which regards the Nile River as its ‘lifeline’, and Sudan, which has concerns about the security of its own supply, has seriously objected to Addis Ababa’s unilateral start of the second phase of the dam project.

The filling of the reservoir of the second phase over a period of two years will affect the amount of water to which Egypt claims to be entitled.

Under a bilateral Egypt–Sudan agreement in 1959, the two sides agreed to increase Egypt’s share to 55.5 billion cubic meters and Sudan’s to 18.5 billion. But the agreement isn’t recognized by Ethiopia. It has refused to budge on its determination to go ahead with the second phase, irrespective of serious objections by Cairo and Khartoum.

US mediation in 2020 and ongoing similar action by the African Union have failed to produce any result. In early July 2021, the issue was put to the United Nations Security Council to consider one submission by Ethiopia and another by Egypt and Sudan for a resolution. But a conclusion couldn’t be reached.

One of the council’s permanent members claimed that the body didn’t have sufficient expertise to deal with the issue. The council as a whole urged the three parties to avoid unilateral action and reach a negotiated settlement. In a recent article, former Egyptian foreign minister and ambassador to the US Nabil Fahmy warned that ‘sooner or later confrontation seems inevitable, unless we see a sudden and unexpected change in Ethiopia’s position’.

Fahmy has echoed a view that a number of scholars have held about the future possibility of war in the Middle East over water rather than oil.

Miriam Lowi’s 1995 book, Water and power, is very telling. The Khuzestan and Ethiopian dam episodes raise another issue that adds to volatility in the Middle East while the tragedy of climate change remains unaddressed.

Jordan joins Egypt for handling Iraqi oil

On 27^th June 2021, King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Baghdad. All three announced an agreement to cooperate on transporting Iraqi oil through pipelines from Iraq to Jordan to Egypt, from where it will be exported to Europe through the Mediterranean.

This agreement is King Abdullah’s “coming out of the closest” with Iran. It is now official: Jordan is allied with Iran because Iraq is actually under Iran’s control. Exporting Iraqi oil through Jordan to Europe is simply exporting oil controlled by Iran, which rules Iraq through its Shi’ite militias and controls the country’s resources.

One day after this happened, Jordanian state media began promoting full financial cooperation with Iran. This is as shocking to the Jordanian public as it was to the Egyptian public 40 years ago when then-president Anwar Sadat announced peace with Israel.

King Abdullah’s adviser, Zaid Nabulsi, a member of the newly appointed “king’s Advisory Board,” told the media, “Iranian religious tourism will breathe life back into Jordan.” Government-controlled media sites began speaking about one million expected religious tourists. Those are meant to visit the southern village of Kerak, 120 km south of Amman, to visit the shrine of Jaffar Ibn Abu Taleb. In addition to that, the Jordanian and Arab press began speaking of an Iranian proposal to build an airport in Kerak.

Jaffar Ibn Abu Taleb was the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin who died fighting against the Byzantine Empire in Kerak. His shrine is considered most holy to the Shi’ite faith. Nonetheless, the Sunni faith generally bans visiting graves for worship and considers it an act of infidelity toward God, hence the shrine is mostly closed. Nonetheless, the king himself went for a visit to promote and help legitimize these future visits

It went further, with a monarchy-supported campaign to even promote the Shi’ite faith itself. This is what Iran did in both Syria and Iraq. This is exactly how it all began.

A Jordanian journalist known for his close ties to the Hashemite monarch, Mouafaq Mahadeen, appeared on TV two nights after the king’s visit and said “80% of Lebanon’s Shi’ites are originally from Kerak.” Jordanian media sites repeated that Iran was considering building an airport in Kerak. Old news stories resurfaced of Iran allegedly promising to supply the kingdom with free oil for 30 years

On July 3, Jordanian TV broadcast a show in which the speakers claimed it was not at all dangerous to welcome the Iranians into Jordan as tourists. This was in response to mutual threats and warnings issued by the leaders of the Palestinian majority of the country as well as the Bedouin native minority. Both issued messages to the king on 1st July 2021 warning him against bringing Iran into Jordan. In a normal situation, both sides would not dare criticize the king, let alone send him a warning.

The king of Jordan believes that opening the door to the Shi’ites will save his country from various crises facing the country. But analysts say this will be a double-edged sword, and it will not take long for Jordan to sink into darkness just like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen have. Israel fears of opening another front, sending drones, or even digging tunnels in the areas bordering Jordan, which will be under the control of the Shi’ites.

Ever Given starts journey out of Suez Canal

According to BBC, the mega container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March finally left the Suez Canal after Egypt signed a compensation deal with its owners and insurers. The Ever Given, around 09:30 GMT headed north towards the Mediterranean escorted by tugs. The ship has been impounded for three months near the canal city of Ismailia.

As it got under way, Egyptian TV showed footage of the captain and a crew member being presented with flowers and a plaque on board the ship.

The 193 kilometre long Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea at the canal's northern end to the Red Sea in the south and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

The vital waterway was blocked when the 400-meter long Ever Given became wedged across it after running aground amid high winds. Global trade was disrupted as hundreds of ships were stuck in the traffic jam.

The container ship was refloated following a six-day salvage operation that involved a flotilla of tug boats and dredging vessels. One person was killed during the operation.

Since then, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has been seeking compensation from the Ever Given's Japanese owner Shoei Kisen for the cost of the salvage operation, damage to the canal's banks and other losses.

The SCA initially asked for US$916 million compensation, including US$300 million for a salvage bonus and US$300 million for loss of reputation. But UK Club - which insured Shoei Kisen for third-party liabilities - rejected the claim, describing it as "extraordinarily large" and "largely unsupported".

The SCA later lowered its demand to US$550 million. The final settlement, which has not been revealed, was agreed a few days ago and signed on Wednesday to coincide with the ship's release.

SCA head Osama Rabie told a news conference that the authority would not change its rules about the passage of ships in bad weather. However, he said the grounding had accelerated plans for the canal's expansion.

The UK Club paid tribute to "the work and expertise of the SCA and others whose professionalism and dedication resulted in the ship being refloated".

"Over the last three months we, along with the ship's owners and other interests, have worked closely with the SCA's negotiations team to achieve today's results," a statement said.

Yukito Higaki of Imabari shipbuilding, of which Shoei Kisen is a subsidiary, said the company would continue to be "a regular and loyal customer" of the Suez Canal Authority.

The vessel, with an Indian crew, is still loaded with about 18,300 containers. It is due to undergo an inspection by divers at Port Said before sailing to Rotterdam and then to the UK port of Felixstowe where it will offload its containers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Britain selling weapons to human rights abusers

Reportedly, Britain has sold arms and military equipment to two-thirds of countries slammed for their dire record on human rights and civil liberties.

Between 2011 and 2020, Britain licensed £16.8 billion of arms to 39 countries castigated by Freedom House, a US government-funded human rights group, for their poor record on political and human rights, according to British daily newspaper The Guardian.

The London-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) also found that during the same period, £11.8 billion of arms had been authorized by the British government to countries on the Foreign Office’s own list of repressive regimes.

The British Department for International Trade has also identified nine countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, as “core markets” for arms exports. The countries have been widely criticized for human rights abuses.

“Right now, British-made weapons are playing a devastating role in Yemen and around the world. The arms sales that are being pushed today could be used in atrocities and abuses for years to come,” said Andrew Smith of the CAAT.

“Wherever there is oppression and conflict there will always be arms companies trying to profit from it, and complicit governments helping them to do so,” Smith said.

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, emboldened by Western powers’ weapons and support, launched a deadly military campaign against Yemen in March 2015 to reinstall the former Riyadh-friendly Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The war – which they claimed would last only a few weeks but is still ongoing – has led to the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including women and children, and destroyed much of Yemen’s infrastructure.

Throughout the campaign, the British government kept up arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite widespread reports that the weapons are being used against civilians.

Britain has sold combat aircraft, helicopters, drones, grenades, bombs and missiles to Riyadh, with most weapons licensed via the opaque and secretive Open License system.

According to Sarah Waldron of the CAAT, “British-made weapons have been central to a bombardment that has destroyed schools, hospitals and homes and created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”

“Many of these sales are going to despots, dictatorships and human rights abusing regimes. They haven’t happened by accident. None of these arms sales would have been possible without the direct support of Boris Johnson and his colleagues,” Smith added.

Back in February, Oxfam, an international charity organization, warned that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia could prolong the war in Yemen.

The UK is “ramping up its support for the brutal Saudi-led war by increasing arms sales and refueling equipment that facilitate airstrikes,” said Sam Nadel, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam.

Settlement reached over ship stuck in Suez Canal

Reportedly, the owner and insurers of the mega container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021 and disrupted global shipping have reached a settlement with the Egyptian authorities.

The insurer's statement did not specify the amount, but said that once the settlement is formalized, the ship ‑ Ever Given ‑ after nearly three months of haggling, finger-pointing and court hearings - would finally complete its journey through the canal.

"Following extensive discussions with the Suez Canal Authority's negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached," said a statement from the insurer UK P & I Club. "Together with the owner and the ship's other insurers, we are now working with the SCA to finalize a signed settlement agreement as soon as possible."

Since the ship was freed in a huge salvage effort, about six days after running aground across the Suez, the canal authority had been locked in an often acrimonious stand-off with the ship's owner and operators over what the authority said it was owed for the incident.

The authority had sought up to US$ one billion in compensation, a figure that included the cost of tugboats, dredgers and crews hired to salvage the ship as well as the loss of revenue while the canal was blocked.

Under the standard terms that shipping companies are required to accept before traversing the Suez Canal, ships are liable for all costs or losses they cause in the canal.

Still, the authority never provided a detailed breakdown of how it had arrived at such a large amount.

The sum does not cover the disruption to worldwide shipping, including delayed cargo and costs to other shipping lines, which experts have said could ultimately soar into the hundreds of millions.

Physically, at least, the Ever Given was long ago declared fit to move on. But until compensation is paid, the ship and its crew will remain impounded in the Great Bitter Lake, a natural body of water that connects the section of the canal where the ship was stuck to the next segment, according to SCA Chairman, Osama Rabie.

An Egyptian court had ordered the ship held until the financial claims were settled, a move that drew protests from the Ever Given's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha.

For more than three months, they faced off in an Egyptian commercial court and in the local press.

The Egyptians insisted that the captain - who, under SCA rules, bore ultimate responsibility for commanding the ship despite the presence of Suez pilots who directed steering and speed - was to blame.

Whatever were the Ever Given's objections, the canal having a reputation for demanding large liability sums from ship-owners, enjoyed a strong hand in the negotiations.

The months of negotiations left the ship's crew of 25 Indian seafarers stuck in the middle, unable to leave the Ever Given until the bargaining ends, but for a few cases in which the Egyptian authorities granted crew members' requests to leave after their contracts ended or for family reasons.

Like Netanyahu, Abbas also becomes redundant

According to reports, Palestinian Authority (PA) is upset with Egypt’s continued support for deposed Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan, an archrival of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The Egyptians are said to be outraged by Abbas’s alleged attempt to obstruct Cairo’s effort to contribute to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of last month’s fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged US$500 million to help rebuild the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. He has also dispatched dozens of engineers, bulldozers and cranes to the Gaza Strip to assist in the reconstruction effort.

“Egypt is working behind our back,” said a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah. “The Egyptians are working directly with Hamas on the reconstruction effort, ignoring the role of the Palestinian Authority.”

The tensions between Ramallah and Cairo were also related to the PA’s demand to supervise the entry of Qatari cash grants into the Gaza Strip.

The money must be delivered to the Gaza Strip through the PA government in Ramallah to ensure that the funds do not end up in the hands of Hamas; the PA has informed the Egyptians.

The PA also is said to be worried about Hamas’s demand that jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti be included in any prisoner-exchange agreement with Israel. The PA fears that such a move would further boost Hamas’s popularity among Palestinians, which has already increased after the 11-day fighting with Israel.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who visited Cairo last week, met with Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, and discussed with her the issue of a prisoner swap with Israel.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in a series of terrorist attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada. Public opinion polls have shown that he would defeat Abbas and other candidates in a PA presidential election.

In a surprise move, Egypt has called off a planned meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo to discuss the reconstruction effort in the Gaza Strip and ways of achieving Palestinian unity.

The decision to call off the meeting was taken in light of Egypt’s discontent with Abbas and the PA leadership over their recent positions toward the reconstruction and ending the Hamas-Fatah rift.

Abbas had turned down an Egyptian invitation to participate in the meeting of the Palestinian factions.

The Egyptians called off the meeting despite representatives of the factions having already arrived in Cairo.

The PA is opposed to giving Hamas any role in the reconstruction effort, insisting that the Ramallah-based government alone be responsible.

The Palestinian leadership was surprised to see the Egyptians invite many Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Cairo for talks on the reconstruction effort.

“This move was not coordinated in advance with the Palestinian Authority,” the official said.

Earlier, PA had dispatched a senior delegation to Cairo headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Amr for talks with Egyptian officials on ways of solving the dispute over the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. The delegation members reiterated Abbas’s stance that the PA alone should be responsible for the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptians are also said to be frustrated with Abbas’s refusal to patch up his differences with Hamas and Dahlan, who is reportedly closely associated with Sisi.

Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, has improved his relations with Hamas over the past few years. As part of the rapprochement, Hamas allowed dozens of Dahlan loyalists who fled the Gaza Strip to return to their homes.

Over the past five years, several attempts by Sisi to persuade Abbas to bury the hatchet with Dahlan have failed.

In recent weeks, the PA security forces arrested or summoned for interrogation more than 150 Dahlan supporters in the West Bank, a move that has increased tensions between Ramallah and Cairo.

The PA has also resumed its security crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank, sabotaging Cairo’s efforts to end the rivalry between Abbas’s Fatah faction and the Gaza-based group.

Is Israel handing over control of Gaza to Egypt?

There are many rumors that the Egyptians are planning to return to the Gaza Strip. Many people here are convinced that the Egyptian-sponsored reconstruction work is part of a plan to pave the way for a permanent Egyptian security presence in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptians are working to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation and reunite the West Bank with the Gaza Strip. Egypt has invited representatives of several Palestinian factions to Cairo as it supports the establishment of a Palestinian state comprising of West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

It may be recalled that during the 1948 War of Independence, the Arab League established the “All-Palestine Government” to govern the Egyptian-controlled Gaza. Palestinians living in the enclave were issued “All-Palestine” passports. Egypt did not offer them citizenship. After the dissolution of the All-Palestine Government in 1959, Egypt continued to control the Gaza Strip until 1967. The Egyptians never annexed Gaza and chose to administer it through a military governor.

After the establishment of ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on 21^st May 2021, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi has pledged US$500 million to help rebuild the houses and buildings that were destroyed during the fighting. Dozens of Egyptian bulldozers, cranes and trucks entered the Gaza last Friday. This created an impression among the Palestinians that Egypt is planning to return to the coastal enclave it ruled between 1948 and 1967.

It is not clear if Egypt wants to go back to the days when it was administering the Gaza. But Sisi’s decision to contribute to the reconstruction effort shows that he wants to be heavily involved with everything concerning Gaza.

Some critics go to the extent of saying that the presence of the Egyptian construction teams in the Gaza means that Hamas and other Palestinian factions will not be able to resume the rocket attacks on Israel.

They say, “It will be hard for Hamas to initiate another round of fighting with Israel when there are many Egyptians inside the Gaza Strip. If Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad starts firing rockets at Israel while the Egyptian construction teams are working in the Gaza, the two groups will get into trouble with Egypt.”

The Head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Abbas Kamel, last week made a rare visit to the Gaza, where he met with leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian factions and discussed with them ways of maintaining the ceasefire and the reconstruction efforts.

It is on record that relations between Egypt and Hamas were strained after Sisi came to power in 2013 after deposing President Mohamed Morsi and outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood. In 2015, an Egyptian court listed Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, as a terrorist organization. Morsi and other members of the Muslim Brotherhood were later charged with spying for Hamas and Iran.

Until a few years ago, Egypt’s state-controlled media had accused Hamas of helping Muslim terrorists who attacked Egyptian security forces in the Sinai. Hamas has strongly denied the charges, saying it does not meddle in the internal affairs of any Arab country. The relations between Egypt and Hamas have improved over the past few years.