CAIRO — Egyptian officials and a Western
diplomat reportedly stated to the Associated Press (AP) on Sunday that Egypt
might suspend its peace treaty with Israel in response to a potential Israeli
invasion of the city of
Rafah in southern Gaza along the Egyptian border.
اضافة اعلان
According to Egyptian reports, warnings
have been issued to Israel regarding the potential suspension of Cairo's
obligations under the Camp David peace treaty if the
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attack Rafah, Khaberni reported.
Al Jazeera cited two Egyptian security
sources confirming Cairo's deployment of about 40 tanks and armored personnel
carriers to northeastern Sinai in the past two weeks. This deployment coincides
with Israeli officials discussing military action in Rafah, a densely populated
city housing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
Despite Egyptian warnings, Israel has announced
plans to proceed with the invasion of Rafah, revealing a plan to displace its
estimated 1.4 million residents.
In an interview with ABC NEWS,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that those advising against the invasion
are essentially suggesting that Israel lose the war.
Challenges
and consequences surrounding the Camp David agreement
As Israel persists in its push to invade
Rafah, observers raise two pivotal questions: Firstly, the seriousness of
Egypt's threat to suspend the Camp David agreement, signed with Israel in 1979.
Secondly, the viability of
Camp David following Israeli breaches of the
military protocol, notably through the Rafah invasion and control over the
Philadelphi Route connecting Gaza and Egypt.
Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat and
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the peace treaty in Washington in
1979, stating, "Agreed security arrangements will be established,
including limited-armament zones in Egyptian and Israeli territories with the
presence of UN forces and observers." The treaty allowed for the amendment
of agreed security arrangements at the request and agreement of both parties.
The treaty affected the Egyptian military
presence in Sinai due to restrictions on the size and distribution of Egyptian
forces in the area, which was divided into three zones.
The additional protocol regarding armament
zones in Egyptian territories became a security dilemma for Egyptian
authorities, especially in Zone C, where armed groups outside the law were said
to have settled, considering it a haven amid dozens of kilometers of mountains
and forests.
As Israel escalates its military buildup to
invade Rafah, ignoring international warnings and Egypt's position, the Russian
newspaper, News.ru published a report titled "Will War Break Out Between
Israel and Egypt?" addressing the escalation on the Egyptian-Gaza border
and the potential confrontation between Cairo and Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, a report in The New York Times
highlighted Egypt's concern about increasing pressures on its borders with
Gaza. Egypt has deployed military reinforcements to its borders and warned
Israel against any step that could force Gaza residents to enter Egyptian
territory.
AP also published a report focusing on the
repercussions of canceling the Camp David agreements if Egypt were to execute
its threat. The move would pressure the IOF, as the treaty significantly limits
the number of forces on both sides of the border, allowing the IOF to focus on
threats from other fronts, including the northern front with Lebanon.
AP
noted that canceling the treaty would deprive Israel of the peace it enjoyed on
its southern border and pose a challenge to the IOF, which is stationed in the
West Bank, engaged in the war in Gaza, and facing daily skirmishes with
Hezbollah on the Lebanese border. Moreover, the move would also have
ramifications for Egypt, which receives billions of dollars in US aid.
Suspending the treaty would jeopardize this
aid and the heavy military buildup in Sinai would burden Egypt's struggling
economy.
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