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    OPINION                                                                  JUNE 27, 2025     |  The Indian Eye 10

               The Bibi–Sisi Rift: Threat

                    to Camp David Accords

                    President Sisi’s rejection of US–Israeli plan to relocate Gazans to Egypt, controversy over
                 Ben Gurion Canal project to bypass Suez Canal and Egypt’s shift towards Russia, China and

                                        Turkiye threatens to derail the 1978 Camp David Accords.

            DR ADIL RASHEED

                  gypt, once celebrated as the
                  socio-political nerve centre of
            Ethe  Arab  world,  seems  to  be
            witnessing a decline in its geopolitical
            stature even in its immediate neigh-
            bourhood in recent decades, owing
            to its economic hardships and the rise
            of Islamist movements in the region.
            This steady marginalisation of Egypt
            came into sharp focus when it did
            not feature in US President Donald
            Trump’s recent tour of Arab coun-
            tries. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
            was also not invited to the US–Gulf
            summit in Riyadh held in May 2025.
                It might be argued that Trump
            was not on a grand tour of West Asia
            but was mainly visiting GCC (Gulf
            Cooperation Council) states in May
            2025. It is also speculated that the
            US president avoided visiting Cairo
            as Sisi had recently turned down the
            US–Israeli plan to relocate Gazans to                          Gen Sisi (left) and Benjamin Netanyahu (Agency File photo)
            Egypt and Jordan,  rejected Trump’s
            demand for free passage of US ships   1978 are often seen as the cornerstone   reportedly warned that “if even one   hundreds of them on their side of
            through the Suez Canal and even re-  of Israeli-Arab relations, which has   Palestinian refugee crosses over (into   the border years ago. To further allay
            fused military assistance to US–Israeli   withstood several regional challenges   Egypt)—the  peace  agreement  (of   US–Israeli concerns, Sisi even hailed
            operations against the Houthis.   and clashes between Palestinian fac-  1979) will be nullified.”     the 1978 Camp David Accords as “a
                In fact, Sisi had himself cancelled   tions and Israel. However, it is for the   Tensions  between  the  two  sides   model for lasting peace” at the Arab
            a planned visit to Washington earlier   first  time  that  Egyptian  government   rose in September last year, when   Summit on 4 March 2025.
            in order to supposedly avoid discuss-  officials  have  started  threatening  to   Israel eventually took control of the   Yet, that assurance was soon off-
            ing the US–Israeli Gaza plan with   scrap the treaty following Israel’s war   Philadelphi Corridor and Israeli   set by a lawsuit filed by a human rights
            Trump. In any case, US–Egypt rela-  in Gaza triggered by the Hamas-led 7   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu   advocate Mahmoud Hassanein at
            tions have hit a new low amid reports   October terror attacks.     (popularly known as Bibi) said that   Egypt’s Administrative Court in late
            that the Washington plans to reduce   The first indication of the threat   Hamas had been using tunnels under   April 2024, which demands the Egyp-
            Egypt’s  US$  1.3  million  annual  mil-  to Israel–Egypt peace treaty of 1979   the border to smuggle arms and re-  tian President to call for a national
            itary aid —linked to the 1978 Camp   came  in  January  2024,  when  the   build its military machine.  referendum on the continuance of the
            David  Accords  and  the  1979  Isra-  Egyptian  government  warned  Israel   Israeli prime minister even clari-  1978 Camp David Accords. The filing
            el–Egypt peace treaty—on account   that any planned occupation of the   fied that IDF forces shall not withdraw   of such a lawsuit that challenges the
            of Cairo’s growing military ties with   Philadelphi  Corridor  (a  100  metre   from the corridor until the smuggling   policies of the ruling Egyptian presi-
            Beijing.                          wide  and  14  km  long  strip  of  land   is effectively stopped. Thus, Netanya-  dent is rare in Egypt and the develop-
                In fact, Egypt’s increasing antip-  between Gaza and Egypt) by Israeli   hu implicitly dismissed Egypt’s de-  ment shows growing disquiet within
            athy towards the US is viewed with   forces would be a violation of the 1978   mand for giving a clear timeline about   Egyptian society and political circles
            respect to its growing acrimony with   Camp David Accords.          Israeli troop withdrawal  from the   against the ongoing Gaza war and
            the Netanyahu government over the     Later  in  February  2024,  when   Philadelphi corridor.        the simmering resentment towards
            ongoing Gaza war, and the alleged   the Netanyahu government informed   For their part, Egyptian officials   the country’s 1979 peace treaty with
            build-up of its military across the 200   Egypt that it had planned to launch   insisted that there remained no ex-  Israel.
            km border with Israel.            a ground operation in Gaza’s south-  isting tunnels in the Philadelphi cor-  Although Egypt is the only coun-
                The Camp David Accords of     ern  city  of  Rafah,  Egyptian  officials   ridor  as  their  forces  had  destroyed   Continued on next page... >>

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