Egypt Security Sector Report
This week’s dispatch looks into Egypt’s Palestine diplomacy, the implications of the Sudanese military victories in Khartoum, the Red Sea disasters, cooperation with Turkey in arms production, the GIS-run media empire troubles, the Menendez trial, refugees, migration, and prisons.
📁 Palestine
News reports on Egypt that get published in al-Araby al-Jadeed and Arabi21 have zero credibility and should be double-checked. I don’t cite or comment on these reports here in my newsletter, because it’s a complete waste of my time.
The State Information Service repeated Egypt’s “firm rejection” of claims suggesting that its stance on the displacement of Palestinians is linked to economic aid, in a statement on Monday.
The Israeli army said Tuesday it foiled an attempt to smuggle 50 kilograms of drugs into Israel from Egypt earlier today, using a drone. Two days later, a drone carrying 10 kilograms of drugs and another carrying weapons were also downed.
A small protest in solidarity with Gaza was held in front of the Journalists Syndicate on Wednesday.
The State Information Service condemned on Wednesday “claims circulated by some news websites and social media platforms alleging that Egypt transported military aid to Israel,” in reference to the retracted report by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights.
Sisi again tried to capitalize on the regional turmoil to shore up domestic support for his regime. On Wednesday, he repeated his calls for the public to unite behind his leadership.
Haaretz reported on Wednesday:
Egypt itself is also growing increasingly frustrated with Israel. The government in Cairo suspects that Netanyahu and his confidant Ron Dermer are planning to push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza into Egyptian territory, with the backing of the Trump administration.
In a move clearly signalling Cairo’s frustrations with Hamas, the General Intelligence Service (GIS)-run al-Qahera News publicized on Wednesday a call for Friday protests against Hamas in southern Gaza.
Egypt has received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase, security sources told Reuters on Thursday. The proposal suggests Hamas release five Israeli hostages each week, sources said. An Egyptian security delegation headed to Qatar on the same day for negotiations.
Netanyahu has directed the Mossad to identify countries that would be willing to take in large numbers of displaced Palestinians from Gaza, Axios reported on Friday. Talks have already taken place with Somalia and South Sudan, as well as other countries, including Indonesia, according to the two Israeli officials and a former US official.
In an interview with al-Ahram al-Arabi on Friday, FM Badr Abdelatty announced that consensus had been reached on the members of the non-partisan committee set to oversee the administration of Gaza during a six-month transitional period.
Egyptian and Qatari delegations have been engaging with multiple parties to finalize a prisoner exchange deal and a 50-day ceasefire, aiming to reach an agreement before Eid al-Fitr and Passover, Asharq reported Saturday. Hamas has reportedly accepted an Egyptian proposal to release five hostages, including the American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a return to the initial ceasefire conditions and the entry of humanitarian aid. The Israeli government responded with a counter-proposal, though the terms remain undisclosed.
The state and the security services mobilized “protests” following the Eid prayers early today, in Cairo and several provinces, against the displacement of the Palestinians and in support of Sisi.
