Egypt–Palestine relations
Encyclopedia
Egypt–Palestine relations are the bilateral relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. Egytian President Gamal Abdel Nasser
was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and he favored self-determination for the Palestinians. Even today Egypt
maintains strong relations with the Palestinian Authority and it favors peace between both Israel
and Palestine
Relations between Egypt
and the Palestinians started after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Many Palestinians saw Nasser as the only real person who can defeat the Israelis and many of them had sympathized with him and supported him. During the January 1964 Arab League summit
, Nasser decided to establish an organization to represent the Palestinians. In May 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization
or PLO was established. It included various Palestinian factions and its first leader was Ahmad Shukeiri
, who was supported by Nasser. But after Israel was defeated in the Six Day War in June 1967, Nasser began to call for peace with Israel.But his traditional allies (Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and the PLO) opposed his recent moves and formed a "rejectionist front."
In January 1968, Nasser commenced the War of Attrition
against Israel, ordering his forces to begin attacking Israeli positions east of the now-blockaded Suez Canal. In the same month, he allowed the Soviets to construct naval facilities in Port Said
, Marsa Matruh
, and Alexandria
. Then in March, Fatah under the leadership of Yasser Arafat
, faced off with Israel in Jordan in what became known as the Battle of Karameh
. The Jordanian Army eventually backed Fatah fighters forcing Israel to withdraw its troops without achieving its strategic goal—destruction of the Palestinian fedayeen base. The battle was thus seen as an Arab victory over Israel and Nasser immediately dispatched Mohammed Hassanein Heikal to invite Arafat to Cairo. There, Nasser offered the Fatah movement arms and financial support, but advised Arafat to think of peace with Israel and establishing a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip
; Nasser was effectively ceding his leadership of the "Palestine issue" to Arafat. Eventually Yasser Arafat
was later elected President of the PLO.
But after the death of Nasser his successor Anwar Sadat
signed the Camp David Accords. This angered the Arab World and it led to the expulsion of Egypt from the Arab League until 1989. After Sadat's assassination, Hosni Mubarak
continued the peace process and has maintained relations with Israel. Nevertheless, Egypt was one of the first countries to support the Palestinian Declaration of Independence
and officially recognized Palestine on November 16, 1988.
went into effect. The term "lull" is a translation of the Arabic
term Tahdia
. The agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza. In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to 2005 levels, which was between 500 and 600 trucks per day. Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day. Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.
During the 2008-2009 Gaza War, Egypt condemned the Israeli attacks, but Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit
, said that Egypt has long warned Hamas that this would be Israel’s response should Qassam fire continue. As a result of many protests, Egypt opened up the Rafah Border Crossing to allow the wounded into Egyptian hospitals. The Egyptian Ministry of Health sent 30 buses to North Sinai to help transport injured Palestinians. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Hamas does not allow the wounded Gazans to cross the borders to Egypt. Egypt also deployed 500 CSF
anti-riot police along the border. At the 6060th UN Security Council meeting the Egypt
ian representative stated that the "crippling blockade imposed by Israel" is in "flagrant violation" of Israel's responsibilities under international law, international humanitarian law and its specific obligations as an "occupying power".
After 2010 Gaza flotilla raid
, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
denounced Israel's use of "excessive and unjustified force" while the Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express its condemnation. The Egyptian President also ordered the opening of the Egyptian border to Gaza on Tuesday to allow humanitarian and medical aid into the Gaza Strip. On February 13, 2011, Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour
stated that "the Camp David Era was over" and he did not recognize Egypt's Peace Treaty with Israel.
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and he favored self-determination for the Palestinians. Even today Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
maintains strong relations with the Palestinian Authority and it favors peace between both Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
Historical Relations
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the Palestinians started after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Many Palestinians saw Nasser as the only real person who can defeat the Israelis and many of them had sympathized with him and supported him. During the January 1964 Arab League summit
1964 Arab League summit (Cairo)
The 1964 Arab League summit was the first summit of the Arab League, held in Cairo, Egypt, on 13 - 16 January 1964 and attended by all thirteen member states....
, Nasser decided to establish an organization to represent the Palestinians. In May 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
or PLO was established. It included various Palestinian factions and its first leader was Ahmad Shukeiri
Ahmad Shukeiri
Ahmad al-Shukeiri also transcribed al-Shuqayri, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry, etc.), was the first Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, serving in 1964–67....
, who was supported by Nasser. But after Israel was defeated in the Six Day War in June 1967, Nasser began to call for peace with Israel.But his traditional allies (Syria, Iraq, Algeria, and the PLO) opposed his recent moves and formed a "rejectionist front."
In January 1968, Nasser commenced the War of Attrition
War of Attrition
The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been...
against Israel, ordering his forces to begin attacking Israeli positions east of the now-blockaded Suez Canal. In the same month, he allowed the Soviets to construct naval facilities in Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Marsa Matruh
Marsa Matruh
Marsa Matrouh is a Mediterranean seaport and the capital of the Matrouh Governorate in Egypt. It is west of Alexandria and 222 km from Sallum, on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. Another highway leads south from the town, toward the Western Desert and the oases of...
, and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Then in March, Fatah under the leadership of Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
, faced off with Israel in Jordan in what became known as the Battle of Karameh
Battle of Karameh
The Battle of Karameh was fought on March 21, 1968 in the town of Karameh, Jordan, between the Israel Defense Forces and combined forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Army...
. The Jordanian Army eventually backed Fatah fighters forcing Israel to withdraw its troops without achieving its strategic goal—destruction of the Palestinian fedayeen base. The battle was thus seen as an Arab victory over Israel and Nasser immediately dispatched Mohammed Hassanein Heikal to invite Arafat to Cairo. There, Nasser offered the Fatah movement arms and financial support, but advised Arafat to think of peace with Israel and establishing a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
; Nasser was effectively ceding his leadership of the "Palestine issue" to Arafat. Eventually Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
was later elected President of the PLO.
But after the death of Nasser his successor Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
signed the Camp David Accords. This angered the Arab World and it led to the expulsion of Egypt from the Arab League until 1989. After Sadat's assassination, Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
continued the peace process and has maintained relations with Israel. Nevertheless, Egypt was one of the first countries to support the Palestinian Declaration of Independence
Palestinian Declaration of Independence
The Palestinian Declaration of Independence is a statement written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988. It had previously been adopted by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization , by a vote...
and officially recognized Palestine on November 16, 1988.
Recent Relations
On 19 June 2008, the Egypt-brokered "lull" or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire
-Background: After its victory in the 2006 municipal legislative elections, Hamas assumed administrative control of Gaza. Hamas consolidated this control over Gaza after a military conflict with Fatah. Israel and Egypt then partially sealed their border crossings with Gaza, on the grounds that...
went into effect. The term "lull" is a translation of the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
term Tahdia
Tahdia
Tahdiya is Arabic for "calming" or "quieting".The term has been applied to a temporary lull between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian Hamas, beginning early in 2004 following the non successful discussions to sign a Hudna, or temporary armistice...
. The agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza. In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to 2005 levels, which was between 500 and 600 trucks per day. Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day. Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.
During the 2008-2009 Gaza War, Egypt condemned the Israeli attacks, but Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul-Gheit is an Egyptian diplomat who was the Foreign Minister of Egypt from 11 July 2004 to 6 March 2011, since the government of Ahmed Nazif took office. Aboul-Gheit previously served as Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations. In December 2005 he began mediating the Chad-Sudan conflict...
, said that Egypt has long warned Hamas that this would be Israel’s response should Qassam fire continue. As a result of many protests, Egypt opened up the Rafah Border Crossing to allow the wounded into Egyptian hospitals. The Egyptian Ministry of Health sent 30 buses to North Sinai to help transport injured Palestinians. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Hamas does not allow the wounded Gazans to cross the borders to Egypt. Egypt also deployed 500 CSF
Central Security Forces
The 350,000 strong Central Security Forces CSF organization is an Egyptian Paramilitary force which is responsible for assisting the Egyptian National Police for the security of governmental fixed sites, foreign embassies & missions, riots & crowds control, publicly crowded events, high risk...
anti-riot police along the border. At the 6060th UN Security Council meeting the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian representative stated that the "crippling blockade imposed by Israel" is in "flagrant violation" of Israel's responsibilities under international law, international humanitarian law and its specific obligations as an "occupying power".
After 2010 Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
denounced Israel's use of "excessive and unjustified force" while the Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express its condemnation. The Egyptian President also ordered the opening of the Egyptian border to Gaza on Tuesday to allow humanitarian and medical aid into the Gaza Strip. On February 13, 2011, Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour
Ayman Nour
Ayman Abd El Aziz Nour is an Egyptian politician, a former member of the Egyptian Parliament and chairman of the El Ghad party.He was imprisoned in January 2005 by the government of President Hosni Mubarak. Nour was released on health grounds on February 18, 2009...
stated that "the Camp David Era was over" and he did not recognize Egypt's Peace Treaty with Israel.