Egypt Security Sector Report
This week’s dispatch includes reports on Egypt and the regional developments, the US fight for global domination and the restructuring of the Middle East, militarization of the civil service, migration, refugees, industrial actions, transport, and prisons.
📁 Palestine
Over 100 journalists representing a wide range of international media outlets sent a letter to the Egyptian authorities requesting access to Gaza through the Rafah Crossing.
Just under 80 Palestinian prisoners have been released to Cairo under the current deal. It is unclear how many of them would be allowed to stay in Egypt and how many would be deported to other countries.
Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, opposing Trump’s relocation plan.
Pressed to respond to Egypt’s and Jordan’s rejection of Trump’s relocation plan, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters Tuesday that Washington expects to work with them and other allies to advance “practical solutions.”
“We’re looking to a number of our allies and partners in the region. We have to collectively solve this problem,” Waltz told reporters outside the White House along with US envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff.
On the same day, Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan called for “a unified Arab stance, demanding the achievement of enduring peace in the Middle East, so as to achieve the desired stability and economic prosperity.”Trump proposed that the US “own and develop” Gaza, suggesting a permanent resettlement of Palestinians elsewhere as part of a reconstruction plan.
And I have a feeling that despite them saying no, I have a feeling that the king in Jordan and that the general president -- but that the general in Egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done, and people can live in harmony and in peace.
His remarks have sparked bipartisan backlash in the US and international condemnation, with critics calling the idea “problematic” and “deranged.” Meanwhile, Israeli PM Netanyahu welcomed the proposal, stating it “could change history.”
The Egyptian Presidency and Foreign Ministry made no immediate official comment addressing directly Trump’s proclamations. However, the GIS-run media outlets extensively covered the denunciations and the negative reactions of Palestinian, Arab, and international officials, Egyptian GONGOs, and simply any entity anywhere on the planet that criticized Trump’s proposal.
Without explicitly naming Trump, Sisi’s spokesperson stated on the same day that Egypt’s president told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in a phone call that Cairo would accelerate reconstruction efforts in Gaza to make the enclave habitable again. Both leaders condemned any forced displacement of Palestinians, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability. However, Egypt provided no specific timeline or details for its reconstruction plans.
The Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that Abdelatty discussed with the Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohamed Mustafa “recovery plans for the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians from the territory,” and stressed the importance of “empowering the Palestinian Authority politically and economically to assume its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Two Egyptian officials told the Associated Press on Wednesday thatCairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
One official said the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the State Department and members of the U.S. Congress. A second official said it has also been conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France and Germany.
A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously because the discussions have not been made public, confirmed receiving the message from Egypt through multiple channels. The diplomat said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.
The diplomat said Egypt rejected similar proposals from the Biden administration and European countries early in the war.
Approximately 9,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Egypt since the start of the ceasefire agreement, reported the GIS-run Al-Qahera News channel on Wednesday.
Although his administration officials appeared to backtrack the following day, Trump doubled down on his plan, saying on Thursday that “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” asserting “No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”
Without naming Trump, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday its “complete rejection of any proposal or concept aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause through uprooting or displacing the Palestinian people from their historic homeland and its seizure, whether on a temporary or permanent basis,” asserting “it will not be a party” to such a plan.
Scholar Sara Khorshid writes
To the Egyptian state, this is a national security issue that would undermine its already shaky domestic support and open the door for a security crisis due to the importation of Gaza’s violence to its territory. It could also cause grave internal tensions.
Even if Trump offers Egypt significant benefits in return, such as economic aid or debt relief, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would struggle to make any concessions on this issue. The stakes are very high.
PM Mostafa Madbouly said Thursday that Egypt would mobilize its resources to contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction efforts.
FM Abdelatty held extensive talks Friday with 11 Arab counterparts, “reaffirming the collective Arab rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians or relocate them outside their homeland,” citing violations of international law and regional stability. He further stressed “Egypt’s commitment to sustaining the Gaza ceasefire, accelerating humanitarian aid, and advancing reconstruction efforts without Palestinian displacement.”
Trump on Friday said he is in no hurry to implement his plan to take over Gaza. “We’re in no rush on it,” he told reporters at the White House.
On Saturday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned the irresponsible and unacceptable statements” in which Netanyahu called for establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.
In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Netanyahu accused Egypt of not allowing the Palestinians to leave Gaza, and claimed under Trump’s resettlement plan, Gazans would eventually be able to return home after being screened. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denounced his statements as “misleading.”
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss Palestine developments, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The IDF claimed yesterday it intercepted a drone smuggling weapons crossing from Egypt into Israel.
Trump yesterday reaffirmed his plans for the US to redevelop Gaza, saying that he viewed the Strip as a “big real estate site.” For his part, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News that Trump’s plan was the first “new idea” to have been put forward in years, but he appeared to stop short of endorsing it. He said:
Both Jordan and Egypt, and the Abraham Accords partners…they are partners that must be listened to, must be discussed with, we have to honor their [feelings] as well, and see how we build a plan that is sustainable for the future.
FM Abdelatty arrived in the US yesterday to meet with senior officials, part of the lobbying efforts against Trump’s plan.
Over 90 Palestinian prisoners freed in the first stage of the ceasefire deal are stranded in Egypt and Gaza, awaiting formal approval for other countries to take them in.
Textile trade unionist Shady Mohamed, detained since May 2024 for raising a banner in Smouha in solidarity with Gaza, started a hunger strike on 29 January to protest his transfer from the 10th of Ramadan Prison to Borg el-Arab Prison. His wife, Salwa Rashid, says his health is deteriorating due to the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the new facility. Shady Mohamed, a founding member of the Permanent Conference of Alexandria Workers, was previously arrested in October 2022 and released later that month, only to be re-arrested in April 2024.
A source told al-Manassa that the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum is seeking to secure approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day from abroad during the second half of this year. Of this amount, 1 billion cubic feet will come from Israel, while 450 to 500 million cubic feet will be imported as liquefied natural gas (LNG) from global suppliers to meet the increased domestic demand for electricity generation and industrial operations during the summer.