Egypt to reassess 1979 Israel peace treaty amid tensions
Israeli news website Natsiv Net reported that Egypt will likely review and modify the historic peace treaty it signed with Israel in 1979, according to Middle East Monitor on December 23rd.
The site stated that Cairo may be initiating the process to roughly coincide with a potential visit to Washington by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Sources have dismissed rumours that El-Sisi will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his time in the US.
Natsiv also stated that Israeli intelligence reports have been monitoring the recent deployment of advanced air defence systems in the Sinai Peninsula.
These reportedly include the Chinese HQ-9B air defence system, a symbol of Egypt and China’s burgeoning military cooperation which has raised alarm in Israel over the potential erosion of its regional offensive superiority.
The Israeli site added that Cairo feels compelled to conduct this review amid a growing understanding that it must strengthen its defensive capabilities in Northern Sinai and to shield its airspace, even if such measures undermine the commitments it made in the peace treaty.
Ultimately, Egypt’s re-evaluation of the treaty – which is formally named the Camp David Accords – comes amid a considerable deterioration in bilateral relations with Israel, a decay which was largely onset by the latter’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza.
Regional and international observers have since been on high alert regarding the fragility and potential impending collapse of the peace treaty, a deal which put an end to Egypt and Israel’s mutual belligerence.
In August, Egypt deployed 40,000 troops to the Gaza border amid rising concerns that Israel would displace Palestinians from Gaza into North Sinai.
A military source confirmed at the time that the mobilisation of the additional forces composed almost double the number of soldiers permitted under the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. He stated that “Egypt’s army is on the highest state of alert we’ve seen in years.”
However, relations took their sharpest nosedive after Israel openly moved to sabotage Gaza peace talks by executing a targeted yet unsuccessful airstrike on prominent Hamas negotiators in Doha, blatantly violating Qatari sovereignty in the process.
Following the incident, El-Sisi referred to Israel as Egypt’s “enemy” during his closing remarks at the Arab-Islamic summit in Qatar. The Egyptian head of the State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, highlighted the significance of the remark by explaining that “the last time the word ‘enemy’ was used by Egypt’s top official, or by any state official, was before the peace treaty in 1977.”
Ahmed Aboudouh, an Associate Fellow at the Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme, believes Israeli aggression has instilled in Cairo a more cautious and guarded security stance based on a fundamental shift in its understanding of Tel Aviv’s strategic regional ambitions.
He stated that “Egypt’s sense of threat… has been entirely reshaped by the Israeli attack on Doha.” He also speculated that the strike may reframe Israel as the main perceived danger to regional peace and stability amongst some Arab states, shifting the prevailing consensus away from the Iranian threat.
Middle East Monitor via Natsiv Net, Maghrebi.org, Chatham House
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