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.”
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
The%20specs
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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Honeymoonish
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Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
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- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
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Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
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Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
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Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
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Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
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