The latest outbreak of violence between the Israelis and Gaza's militants is putting Egypt's relations with Israel to their severest test in the 44 years since the former enemies signed a historic peace treaty.
After years of what had become known as a “cold peace”, the two sides have forged relatively close ties in the past decade, co-operating on counter-terrorism, energy and the fight against human and drug trafficking into Israel.
But that spirit of co-operation appears to have been shattered by the violence sparked by a deadly incursion into southern Israel by Gaza-based Hamas militants on October 7, which left 1,300 Israelis dead. More than 2,200 Palestinians have also died in Gaza in retaliatory Israeli air strikes.
Ominously, differences between the two neighbours this time round are fundamental and centre on a host of thorny issues. Should relations experience a permanent rupture, the ramifications for Egypt, Israel, the region and beyond would be incalculable.
Equally worrisome is that Egypt's vital ties with the US – its main economic backer for decades and Israel's closest ally – could be in serious jeopardy if there is a complete breakdown in relations with the Israelis.
None of this should be surprising.
The 1979 peace treaty was the first between an Arab nation and Israel. It ended an enmity that dated back to 1948 when the pair fought the first of four, full-fledged wars.
The treaty also enshrined a seismic shift in Egypt's foreign alliance that reshaped the region's landscape, replacing the Soviet Union with the US as Cairo's main foreign backer and benefactor.
To reward Egypt for making peace with Israel, the US launched a generous aid programme that has seen billions of dollars pouring into the country in economic and military assistance to this day.
But Egypt-Israel relations have deteriorated sharply as Israeli air strikes have in the past week targeted Gaza's border crossing with Egypt at least three times, also causing damage to the Egyptian side of the boundary. Egypt criticised Israel for the strikes and demanded they stop.
Confirming the Israeli position, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a media briefing on Saturday that “the borders are closed, and any movement or crossing to Egypt will be in co-ordination with us and in contact with us. For now, this issue is not happening.”
Unfortunately for Egypt, the crisis it faces over relations with Israel and the western pressure it is enduring to adopt policies more aligned with Israel's on Gaza have come amid a severe economic crisis.
“We understand there have been offers to Egypt by some western governments for debt forgiveness and direct investment in return for a more flexible position on Gaza,” said a senior Cairo-based banker, who did not want to be named because of the topic's sensitivity.
Egypt remains steadfast, still loyal to a Palestinian cause it has championed for more than 70 years.
Underlining the rift, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi did not mince his words when he indirectly criticised Israel's reaction to the Hamas attack.
Referring to Israeli policies, he said Egypt wanted to see an end to “collective punishment, siege, starving people and eviction”. He warned that “hosting our Palestinian brothers could liquidate the Palestinian question.”
At the heart of the dispute now is what Cairo sees as a plot by Israel and its backers to force Gaza's 2.3 million residents out of the coastal enclave and into Egypt's sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt sees such a scenario as an unacceptable repeat of the calamitous displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes at the time of Israel's creation in 1948 and the Middle East war in 1967, known as the “Nakba” or catastrophe.
“Relations are strained in a way that had not been seen in years,” said Michael Hanna, the New York-based director of the US programme at the International Crisis Group. “Egypt is deeply worried about the trajectory of events. It is worried about what comes next as it continues to reject the shifting of the burden of the Palestinian question on to its shoulders.”
That Egypt and Israel made peace in 1979 and forged close security relations in the past decade does not mean differences between them only surfaced after the October 7 attacks.
They have often been at sharp odds over the Palestinian question.
Cairo has repeatedly condemned Israel's heavy-handedness in dealing with the Palestinians.
It has been angered by the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the killing or arrests of rock-throwing children in Jerusalem and deaths of thousands of civilians in previous Israeli wars against Hamas, among other issues.
But the killing of hundreds of Israelis, including women and children in the October 7 incursion and the subsequent pummeling of the Gaza Strip by Israeli air strikes shed light on how far apart the two nations remain.
President El Sisi's government, for example, has not publicly condemned the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in the Hamas incursion. Neither has Cairo publicly offered any condolences. In contrast, the attack was met with an outpouring in the West of sympathy and support for Israel.
And there has been no direct contact between Mr El Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the Hamas rampage, although it cannot be ruled out that they spoke by telephone but chose not to publicise the call.
In contrast, Mr El Sisi has held talks on the telephone and in person with at least 17 foreign leaders and senior officials since October 7. His Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has intensified diplomatic efforts in the same period.
Officially, Egypt's position has essentially been the rejection of targeting civilians on both sides.
Significantly, Egypt has saved its harshest criticism and condemnation for the killing and destruction wrought upon the Palestinians by Israel's air campaign in Gaza, its total blockade of the narrow enclave and its refusal to allow humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of residents.
Egypt has also rejected as a breach of international law the demand issued by the Israeli military for more than one million people to evacuate the northern half of the Gaza Strip and move to the south.
“It is better for you to die as knights, heroes and martyrs on your land than to leave it for the usurping colonisers to take,” Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, the powerful Grand Iman of Cairo's Al Azhar mosque – the foremost seat of learning for Islam's Sunni majority – told Gaza's Palestinians in a message.
“Let the entire world know that every occupation will end sooner or later and regardless of how long it lasts.”
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4-litre%20flat-six%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E525hp%20(GT3)%2C%20500hp%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E465Nm%20(GT3)%2C%20450Nm%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh944%2C000%20(GT3)%2C%20Dh581%2C700%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
