Egypt–Israel relations
Encyclopedia
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 Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The state of war between both countries which dated back from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War ended in 1979 with the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty a year after the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
. Full diplomatic relations were established on February 26, 1980. Since then, relations have improved. Egypt has an embassy in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and a general consulate in Eilat. Israel has an embassy in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and a general consulate in 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...
.
Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean
Union for the Mediterranean
The Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 member states of the European Union and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans...
.
Their shared border has two official crossings, at Taba
Taba Border Crossing
The Taba Border Crossing is an international border crossing between Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel. Opened on April 26, 1982 it is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists...
and Nitzana
Nitzana Border Crossing
The Nitzana Border Crossing is an international border crossing between El Ouga, Egypt and Nitzana, Israel. Opened in 1982, the crossing used to handle pedestrians as well as private cars but most of the crossing was being done via the Taba Border Crossing in Eilat and the Rafah Border Crossing in...
, however, the crossing at Nitzana is for commercial traffic only.
A "Cold" Peace
The peace between Egypt and Israel has lasted for more than thirty years, and Egypt has become an important strategic partner of Israel. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former defence minister known for his close ties to Egyptian officials has stated that "Egypt is not only our closest friend in the region, the co-operation between us goes beyond the strategic."Nevertheless, the peace is often described as a "cold Peace", with many in Egypt skeptical about its effectiveness. The Arab-Israeli conflict has kept relations cool and anti-semitic incitement is prevalent in the Egyptian media.
In 2003, Egyptian Air Force
Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...
UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s entered Israeli airspace and overflew the nuclear research facilities at Nahal Sorek in fear of the development of nuclear weapons, and Palmachim Airbase
Palmachim Airbase
Palmachim Air Force Base is an Israeli military facility and spaceport located near the cities of Rishon LeZion and Yavne on the Mediterranean Sea. It is named after nearby Kibbutz Palmachim on the Mediterranean shore....
. Israel threatened to shoot the drones down.
Although diplomatic relations were established in 1980, the Egyptian ambassador to Israel was recalled between 1982 and 1988, and also between 2001 and 2005 due to the Second Intifada.
Public opinion
According to an Egyptian Government 2006, poll of 1000 Egyptians (taken at the time of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
) 92% of Egyptians view Israel as an enemy nation. In Israel, there is lasting support of the Camp David Peace Accords, which have become a national consensus, supported by 85% of Israelis according to a 2001 poll taken by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies (Israel based).
Egypt has mediated several unofficial cease fire understandings between Israel and the Palestinians. There have been many popular protests in Egypt against peace with Israel (from all levels of society, up to and including intellectuals, students and democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
movements such as Kifaya
Kifaya
Kefaya is the unofficial moniker of the Egyptian Movement for Change , a grassroots coalition which prior to the 2011 revolution drew its support from across Egypt’s political spectrum...
). These typically intensify following Israeli actions in its conflicts with the Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, which Israel views as self-defence, but are seen in Egypt as harsh repression of Arabs.
Post-Mubarak relations
The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 led to fears in Israel about the future of the treaty, although the Israeli Prime Minister stated that he expected any new Egyptian government to keep the peace treaty with Israel, as it has served both countries well. After the Egyptian Army took power on 11 February 2011, it announced that Egypt would continue to abide by all its international and regional treaties. Following the overthrowing of Hosni MubarakHosni 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....
the Israeli-Egyptian relations reached its lowest level since the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, as the Israeli-Egyptian border became a region of conflict and instability following the rise of terrorist activity in the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
and following hostility manifestation from masses of Egyptian protesters against Israel in the streets of Cairo.
Following a deadly series of cross-border attacks in southern Israel on August 2011
2011 southern Israel cross-border attacks
On August 18, 2011, a series of cross-border attacks with parallel attacks and mutual cover was carried out in southern Israel on Highway 12 near the Egyptian border by a squad of presumably 12 militants in four groups...
, which were launched against Israeli civilians by militants from Egypt and resulted in deaths of 5 Egyptian soldiers mistakenly shot by Israeli soldiers, mass demonstrations began in front of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. On 20 August, during the protests in front of the Israeli embassy, an Egyptian protester removed the Israeli flag from the embassy building in Cairo and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces consists of a body of 20 senior officers in the Egyptian military. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the Council took the power to govern Egypt from its departing President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011.The junta meets regularly, as...
considered recalling the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv to Egypt. Eventually, Israel publicly apologized for the death of the Egyptian soldiers. Nevertheless, Egypt stated that Israel's apology was insufficient.
The 2011 attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo was an attack carried out by thousands of Egyptian demonstrators who broke into the Israeli embassy in Cairo on Friday, September 9, 2011. The Egyptian police forces stationed at the site attempted to prevent the masses from infiltrating the Israeli embassy building, firing tear gas into the crowd of demonstrators in an attempt to drive them away from the site. After the demonstrators were able to break into the first section of the Israeli embassy building, the Israeli ambassador and the staff of the embassy were evacuated from the site by Egyptian commandos. After the attack Israel flew out the Israeli ambassador and about 85 other diplomats and their family members. Following the attack the Egyptian army declared a state of emergency in the country. Egyptian officials condemned the attack and said that the events were part of an external conspiracy to hurt the stability and foreign relations of Egypt.
See also
- History of the Jews in EgyptHistory of the Jews in EgyptEgyptian Jews constitute both one of the oldest and youngest Jewish communities in the world. While no exact census exists, the Jewish population of Egypt was estimated at fewer than a hundred in 2004, down from between 75,000 and 80,000 in 1922. The historic core of the indigenous community...
- Taba Border CrossingTaba Border CrossingThe Taba Border Crossing is an international border crossing between Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel. Opened on April 26, 1982 it is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists...
- International recognition of IsraelInternational recognition of IsraelThe recognition of Israel in the international community remains an outstanding issue of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Pursuant to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which provided for the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel declared its independence at midnight on 14 May 1948...