Egypt is working to increase its security presence on its border with the Gaza Strip, fearing that the Israeli war on Hamas will extend to its territory if the Israeli army begins its ground attack on the city of Rafah, located in the far south of the Strip, where more than half of Gaza’s population lives. Shelter.
Egyptian security officials told CNN that the fortification on the border is a “precautionary” measure ahead of the expected Israeli ground operation in Rafah. The officials said that as part of its security enhancement, Egypt deployed more forces and vehicles in North Sinai on the border with Gaza.
Decades-old relationships in danger?: Egypt was the first Arab country to recognize Israel in 1979. The two countries signed a historic agreement in which Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula, which it seized from Egypt in the 1967 war, in exchange for peace. The treaty also specified the number of forces stationed on the border between Egypt and Gaza, which at that time was under Israel’s control. The treaty turned Egypt into a pariah in the Arab world, but decades later it helped pave the way for other Arab countries to sign similar agreements with Israel.
Western media, including the Associated Press and the New York Times, reported that Egypt threatened to nullify the peace treaty if Israeli forces invaded Rafah. The Egyptian Foreign Minister denied the reports, but said in a press conference on Monday that Cairo would abide by the treaty “as long as it remains mutual,” the government newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
An Israeli official acknowledged that the Egyptians were concerned about the Israeli operation, but said they were not aware of a specific threat regarding the treaty.
Read more about The relationship between Egypt and Israel.
