Egypt looks to US to resolve dispute with Israel over Gaza border

Cairo's approach comes amid heightened ties with US and limited options in the face of Israeli refusal to withdraw troops from strategic corridor

Egyptian army tanks on the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on September 9, 2024. Such a show inspired chest-beating patriotism on social media. AFP

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Egypt is seeking US intervention to resolve its dispute with Israel over the presence of Israeli troops in the corridor of land that runs the length of the Egypt-Gaza border, analysts and sources told The National.

They said Cairo has made several presentations to senior officials from President Joe Biden's administration in recent weeks, explaining in detail the impact of Israel's capture in May of the Palestinian side of the 14-kilometre-long Gaza-Egypt border, which includes the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt's recourse to the Americans, the analysts and sources say, is in large part a response to the limited options available to Cairo to persuade the Israelis to withdraw from what is known as the Salah Al Din corridor, called the Philadelphi corridor by Israel.

It also reflects a reluctance to escalate the dispute with measures such as suspending its 1979 peace treaty with Israel or recalling its ambassador.

“Egypt does not have much in the way of recourse and Israel is not going to leave the area anytime soon,” said Michael Hanna, director of the US programme at the International Crisis Group think tank. “Diplomatic retaliation remains an option, but Egypt is loath to take that step.”

He said that the approach to the US comes at a time of heightened co-operation between Cairo and Washington towards efforts to bring about a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“Relations between the United States and Egypt are in pretty good shape now with lots of engagement and co-operation. They are effectively on the same page,” Mr Hanna said.

“The US does not want to see a permanent occupation by Israel of the border area, but is hesitant to take action. Egypt, for its part, will be leaning harder on Washington to do so.”

However, Mr Biden's administration has been largely ineffective in its efforts to influence Israel on issues relating to the Gaza war. These include calls for Israel to exercise more flexibility in the ceasefire negotiations, drop its insistence on a postwar military presence in Gaza, and to take care to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians there. Nevertheless, Washington has continued to supply Israel with arms while expressing unwavering support for its right to defend itself.

In an effort to break the deadlock over the border, Egypt has suggested to Israel an international force in the corridor, including US personnel. Israel has rejected the proposal, according to the sources, who have knowledge of the negotiations as well as the months-long efforts to bring about a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Egypt's close ties with the US date to the 1970s, when Cairo broke away from 20 years of alliance with the Soviet Union. Their relations have had some rocky patches, mostly over Egypt's human rights record or foreign policy, but security co-operation and US military and economic aid to Egypt never ceased.

However, the 11-month Gaza war has brought the two closer than at any time in many years. Both nations, together with Qatar, another close US ally, have been mediating between Israel and Hamas to pause the conflict and secure the release of the hostages.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Mr Biden have spoken at least half a dozen times since the war began last October. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Mr El Sisi during most of his nine Middle East visits since then.

Mr El Sisi has also had numerous meetings with CIA director William Burns, Mr Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and with the White House's Middle East and North Africa Co-ordinator Brett McGurk, some of which were not made public.

The Egypt-Israeli dispute over the Salah Al Din corridor has become one of the main stumbling blocks to reaching a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that keeping troops there is necessary to prevent Hamas form rearming through underground tunnels linking Gaza to Egypt. Cairo says its military destroyed the tunnels nearly a decade ago.

The Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on September 9, 2024. AFP

Egypt regards the Israeli occupation of the corridor as breaking an accord signed in 2005 that prohibits the presence of troops and heavy weapons in the area. It also insists that the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing must be run by Palestinians, although not necessarily Hamas.

The dispute has plunged Egypt-Israel relations to what is widely viewed as their lowest ebb since their milestone, US-sponsored peace treaty 45 years ago.

Mr El Sisi, the sources said, has for months refused to take any phone calls from Mr Netanyahu. The state-controlled media in Egypt has been whipping up anti-Israel sentiment over its war in Gaza. Talk show hosts accuse Mr Netanyahu of genocide against Gaza's Palestinians and prolonging the war to ensure his political survival.

The tense relations between the former foes are perpetuated in part by the enduring popular perception in Egypt of Israel as the nation's No 1 enemy, five decades after the last of their four, full-fledged wars in 1973. Fighting wars in the mostly desert Sinai Peninsula – the battlefield of all four wars against Israel – remains at the heart of the doctrine of the Egyptian military to this day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before a map of the Gaza Strip during a televised address on September 2 to explain why Israel must retain control over the Gaza's border with Egypt. AP

A heavily publicised visit to the Gaza border by Egypt's Chief of Staff Gen Ahmed Khalifa last week demonstrated the schism between the two nations. The army released video of columns of armoured vehicles and light tanks a short distance from the border.

Other segments of the five-minute clip showed Gen Khalifa surrounded by commandos in full combat gear as they walked along the border fence.

The presence of tanks and commandos in an area where only lightly armed border guards are supposed to be allowed, under the provisions of the 2005 accord, constituted a clear message to Israel, the sources said.

Many Egyptians took to social media to declare the death of the 1979 peace treaty, egging their military to drive out the Israelis from the Salah Al Din corridor.

Pro-government talk show hosts and their guests feasted on the significance of Gen Khalifa's September 5 visit, explaining at length the “messages” it sent to the Israelis, but they also went out of their way to discredit any thought that the two nations were inching closer to war.

Instead, they sent a unified message to the millions of local viewers that Egypt, while not spoiling for a fight, wanted to show its eastern neighbour it was fully prepared for any eventuality.

Egypt's chief of staff Gen Ahmed Khalifa inspects the border area with Gaza on September 5, 2024. Photo: Egyptian Armed Forces

Moreover, the visit and the intense publicity surrounding it were meant to reassure Egyptians of the preparedness of the military. “No one dares to come near us and threaten our territory. Not Israel or anyone else,” said Ahmed Mousa, one the most staunchpro-government television hosts.

“Don't follow those who are trying to escalate the situation,” said Mohammed El Ghabary, a retired army general who lectures at the Nasser Military Academy. “Neither us nor Israel will gain from an escalation.”

Another military expert, retired brigadier general Sameer Ragheb, also sought to rule out an outbreak of hostilities to settle the dispute over the Gaza border.

“Egypt is bound by the choice of peace,” he said, alluding to the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. “We say this out loud because we are an honourable and truthful nation.”

The narrator of the border visit video had a similarly assuring message, albeit delivered with the tone of absolute certainty typical of the military's media productions.

“The main mission of the armed forces is to safeguard the nation's borders … the armed forces are capable of defending those borders,” he said as a soundtrack of patriotic music grew louder.